Mischief Fragment Mjolnir
by Greylle
Summary: crossing over Nanoha and Naruto. Naru/Hina - most likely. Things get shifted around quite quickly. This wasn't intended to be written, it just started writing itself and fitting things together.
1. Chapter 1: Enter The Orange Storm

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

* * *

branching off the Mischief Fragment plotline -

"I know who we can get to monitor him, and she's completely worthless otherwise so it's a perfect use for her," said one of the clan heads deciding Naruto's fate.

* * *

"I don't get it," said Naruto, inside a bunker that had walls of three feet of reinforced concrete. "Why'd they lock me in here? With you?"

"locked up alone with naruto..." whispered Hinata to herself.

"I don't get it," repeated Naruto, going off to one corner of the cell to think about this.

Hinata tried to figure out how to put this. "Well, you see, it's... my father decided..."

"Eh?" asked Naruto, focussing on Hinata.

Which embarassed her MUCH further so that she started curling up and went quiet.

"What is it, Hinata?" asked Naruto. "Why would they lock us in here?"

"I... that is..." Hinata just went ahead and fainted from the force of her blush.

"Eh?" said Naruto, leaping over to grab the girl before she could hurt herself hitting the hard floor. In fact, it was a good thing Hinata was already unconscious or she'd have slipped into a coma from being held like she was.

_hey, she's pretty cute,_ came some whisper from Naruto's subconscious.

"Huh? Who said that?" asked Naruto, not fooled for a moment.

_Uhm. The Demon Fox. Yeah, that's right. I'm the Demon Fox that's sealed within you._

"I got a Demon Fox sealed within me?" asked Naruto. "Funny. You don't sound like a Demon Fox."

_So I got Multiple Personality Disorder, so sue me,_ griped the little voice.

"The Ninetails is schizopanic?" asked Naruto.

_Close enough,_ said the little voice. _Ahem. The girl is obviously sick._

"She's sick?" asked Naruto, going into a panic. "Ohmygosh! WhatamIgonnado?"

_Learn a special supersecret new jutsu!_ whispered the voice.

"Oh? A new jutsu!" asked Naruto, going from panicked to excited. "What do I need to do?"

_First. Put the girl down._

THUMP!

_On. The. Bed._

"Oh, sorry," said Naruto, realizing his mistake and correcting it. "So what's this new jutsu?"

_I'll have to flash teach you,_ said the voice with a hint of regret. _Sadly, there's no time for the usual insanely-painful-yet-strangely-effective training methods usually used for it. As to the name, it's called magic._

"Ma-gu-ikku?" asked Naruto, sounding it out. "What's that? Oh, 'magic' - like pulling a rabbit out of a hat?"

_No. Sleight of hand is already a common ninja skill._

"Onmyoji?" asked Naruto.

_No. There are ninjas who do that too. Not in Konoha perhaps, but they are most definitely out there._

"Well, how about -" began Naruto.

_That's already a ninjutsu specialization too. So is Blue Magic, which is sort of like the Sharingan actually..._

"So what is it?" asked Naruto.

_Well, without getting too technical, it's based on the Mid-Childa system. You'll be able to cast spells without your tool, but it's WITH your Device that you'll be able to pull out the higher level power._

Naruto scratched his head. "I didn't get a lot of that. So these spells are like jutsu?"

_Yes, that's basically it. Now I need to know what kind of role you want._

"What do you mean 'role'?" asked Naruto predictably.

_Well, you want to be a Hokage, right? So what KIND of Hokage? Do you want to be someone who throws huge amounts of damage at your opponents? Do you want to be able to help your friends and associates to do better? Do you want to be a healer who can help your team and agents recover from wounds and ease their pain? Do you want to be an information-gatherer who can sit back and figure out the answers, so that those you send on missions have a better chance of surviving? Do you want to be a stealth specialist who can find problems and quietly remove them?_

"Can't I be all of that?" asked Naruto, a little overwhelmed and aware that if he made a choice he might not be able to change it later.

_No, not really. Not within a human lifetime. You can have a number of 'jutsu' that do a lot of things, but you'll only be able to keep practice up and get really good at a much more limited field. Being a generalist means that you'll never get to the higher end of one of the specialties._

"Oh," said Naruto.

_Hang on. All specialties of magic require some work on your mana levels, and in this world that means your chakra coils and reservoir. Also need to boost your intelligence a bit, particularly in the whole memory-retention area. Besides, it'll be funnier that way when everyone's expecting you to act like an idiot and you perform a Crowning Act Of Brilliance or something._

Naruto staggered as something changed. After blinking back tears caused by some very unpleasant sensations though he felt fine. "Okay."

_Now, what role you choose will indicate what Device you get. What'll it be?_

Naruto decided to just go ahead with it, he might not understand everything as well as he should but it was a chance at things turning out better than they currently were. Full steam ahead and all that sort of thing. He spoke his choice.

* * *

Naruto staggered, flickered in and out, and when he reappeared he had changed.

Toltiir nodded and decided to take a break, focussing elsewhere for awhile. Naruto was now, as far as biology and memories were concerned, one year older.

As far as a few dozen individuals from Mid-Childa and a few other dimensional planes were concerned, they would remember him as well.

Naruto Uzumaki was now an agent of the Time/Space Agency, a sort of "posse member" or deputy-agent. Whenever an appropriate menace was detected, he might well end up getting tapped for duty. Of course, because he HAD (as far as their records or memories were concerned) told them about the whole ninja thing - it would end up with the Agency contacting the Hokage about a mission. Going through the appropriate channels was something they well understood after all.

So Naruto was a year older, three point nine inches (or 10cm) taller, physically a bit more toned up. Inside, he'd already (as far as he or certain others were concerned) faced: zombies, lost logia, monsters, assassins, switchblade-wielding killer squirrels, mutant snakemen (yuan-ti), hunny-loving pooh bears, dragons, depressed donkeys, teenage alien ninja mutants with mohawks, frost giants, fire giants, man-eating carp, and (perhaps the most frightening and deadly of all) the Princess Of Najirea.

Not that he made enemies out of all of them.

The god of mischief, in the meantime, had just put together a Menace Of The Week that was going to test out the young hero, provide a mission, and incidently provide much silliness. This would be even more fun than the Master Pervert and his lingerie-stealing weasel-ninja minions! Well, mostly.

"Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto, trying to gently shake the girl awake.

Toltiir paused before deciding to tweak things just a little more on his way off to manage some things over at one of the other related planes. Just a little tweak.

* * *

_two days later:_  
Sakura sighed and looked around the room. Sasuke wasn't paying any attention to her. Not unusual. Naruto wasn't paying attention to her, which... wasn't that unusual either though there had been a time that was NOT the case.

"What are you reading there, Naruto?" asked Sakura, revealing exactly how bored she was.

"A book," said Naruto, frowning thoughtfully.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the idiocy of the response. "What kind of book?"

"A friend of mine, Yuuno Scrya, loaned it to me," answered Naruto, still not looking up. "It deals with some useful utility spells."

"Che," muttered Sasuke in a dismissive manner.

"You're reading some fantasy story?" asked Sakura. "Can't you study something useful?"

"Hmf," said Naruto, frowning more and tracing out something on the page.

* * *

Kakashi opened the door and looked over the assigned group. _This group looks like another failure. Brooding emo boy, check. Fangirl type, check. Hyperactive knucklehead... no. Bookworm apparently._

"So you're the three genin I'm stuck with," said Kakashi aloud. "I have to say - I'm not impressed. Meet me on the roof."

Kakashi got to the roof and discovered Naruto was already there? _Did he use a bunshin or something? Maa, whatever._

Sakura and Sasuke reached the roof a moment later, Sakura glaring at Naruto as she did.

"What was the big idea jumping out the window?" Sakura demanded.

Naruto turned another page in his book, not looking up. "I got here, didn't I?"

"Well, suppose we start with introductions, shall we?" asked Kakashi.

"You're kind of suspicious, why don't you go first?" asked Sakura.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake, and I don't really feel like telling you about dreams, I like a lot of things, and there are a number of things I dislike. You're next, angsty-boy."

"Sasuke Uchiha," said Sasuke, brooding. "I dislike useless fangirls, betrayers, my Uncle Genma, takoyaki, and generally have little patience with abject idiocy. I have nothing in particular I like, that I might be willing to mention in current company. My goal is to kill a certain someone in an extremely violent or humiliating manner, preferably both."

"Okayyyy," said Kakashi, who wasn't expecting that much wordiness but understood the sentiment. "Next would be you, bookworm."

"Naruto Uzumaki, genin ninja and journeymage, artillery-spell specialist," said Naruto, putting away the book carefully. "I like ramen, some dragons, big explosions, tweaking jutsu and spells, and my fiancee."

"'spells'?" asked Kakashi.

"'dragons'?" asked Sasuke.

"'fiancee'?" asked Sakura.

"I dislike collateral damage, friendly fire incidents, not having backup when I REALLY find myself in over my head, and people dissing my fiancee," said Naruto. "She's got some blood pressure problems or something, I'm not sure what, but she's a nice girl and according to damn near everyone at the bureau who took a look at her - she really does like me. So unless you want a thunderbolt dropped on your head at some point - don't diss her."

"Gone off into fantasyland, dobe?" asked Sasuke.

"You diss me, that's fine, people do that all the time," continued Naruto with a nod towards Sasuke. "Just don't go after her. According to Captain Harlaown in the Bureau, Hinata's got self-confidence issues and I need to work on getting her over that."

"Fantasyland," repeated Sasuke with a smirk.

"Sakura Haruno," said Sakura by way of introduction when she decided the byplay had ended. "And I like..." (blush) and my dreams are..." (blush fidget) and I dislike annoying uncool boys like Naruto!"

Kakashi sighed, wondering if these three were going to fail worse than the last batch. _Oh well, might as well get on with it._ "Tomorrow there will be a little test -"

* * *

"Hey, what can you tell me about Kakashi Hatake? Know anything about him?" Naruto sipped at his broth. Ah, ramen. Perfect recovery fluid for mana/chakra depletion.

Teuchi looked over from where the noodles were boiling. "Kakashi? The famous copy-nin, Sharingan Kakashi?"

"That's probably him," agreed Naruto between bites of noodles. "I just got assigned to his squad. Some kind of survival training or test going on tomorrow morning."

One of the other customers snorted. "Aren't you supposed to not eat before Kakashi's test?"

"You got to eat regularly to keep your chakra and mana up," said Naruto, waving the point off with his chopsticks. "Besides, he said not to eat 'breakfast' - this is dinner. And before I head off tomorrow I'll just get an early morning snack or something and bring along some juice. If he's gonna work us until we drop or something, cause he was talking about making us throw up, then something like that'd be okay."

The customer in the jonin vest stared at Naruto as if a dog had just walked up and started singing enka.

"What?" asked Naruto, checking to see he didn't have any noodles on his face.

* * *

"So you were late until we've only got two hours to get those bells from you," noted Naruto.

"Right, and in order to get them, you'll have to come after me with killing intent," said Kakashi.

"Ah, that explains it," said Naruto, nodding. "I was wondering why you were going out of your way to be annoying."

"Like you know me?" asked Kakashi.

"Kakashi Hatake, aka Sharingan Kakashi, alias 'the infamous Copy-nin Kakashi', alias the son of the White Fang, Scarecrow of the Leaf, sometimes known as the Rival of Maito Gai. No girlfriend, though apparently one of the women in ANBU thinks you're 'hot' or something. Favorite word: teamwork. Favorite foods are salt-broiled saury and miso soup with eggplant. You least like fried foods or really sweet stuff. Accomplished over a thousand missions, almost fifty of them S-Rank. Major expert at ninjutsu, expert taijutsu, jonin-level genjutsu. Your speed at hand-seals is said to be nearly as fast as the Third. Graduated from the Ninja Academy at age five, made chunin a year later, jonin at thirteen. Joined ANBU after a tragic unrequited love triangle-"

"That's enough," interrupted Kakashi, who then paused. From someone with dead-last Academy records, that was some pretty good intel. And... which girl in ANBU? "You researched me?"

"You didn't give us a lot of details yesterday," said Naruto with a shrug. "Missions can succeed or fail based on how much information we get, so I figured that was part of the test. Was I wrong?"

"No, actually you passed that part of the test," said Kakashi, covering any surprise at this by development with the lie that he had expected it. "I was just surprised you did so well."

"WHAT?" screeched Sakura. "Nobody said we were supposed to do research!"

"Always look underneath the underneath," lectured Kakashi. "You should know that. You are a ninja now, right?"

Naruto nodded, having his expectations confirmed.

Sakura twitched a few times at the thought of NARUTO having picked up a clue she hadn't. This did not bode well.

"So information-gathering was the first part, bell collection is the second," mused Naruto aloud. "Hmmm. Okay, Sasuke and Sakura. I'll let you go first."

"Huh, why?" asked Sakura.

"Because I got a point for information-gathering," said Naruto as if it were obvious. "There are two bells, three of us. So if you two go together, you've got a better chance."

"That's reasonable," admitted Kakashi. "However it's also wrong. Only two of you will be going on to become genin. The third gets no lunch and goes back to the Academy."

"Well," mused Naruto after another pause, "if I fail - I can always fall back on being a mage. Maybe go and see more of the worlds. Since I have backup options, it still means that Sasuke and Sakura should go first."

"I see," said Sasuke with a nod. "Go play with your fantasy books and dolls then. We'll just take the bells."

"Right!" seconded Sakura. "I'm ready Sasuke!"

"Stay out of my way," said Sasuke as reply.

Kakashi shrugged. It didn't look like this was going to go by his script. "Begin."

* * *

Naruto waited and watched as Sasuke tried taijutsu, Sakura tried kunai, and Kakashi demonstrated that he was indeed a jonin and pretty darn good.

When both Sakura and Sasuke were winded, Naruto stood up and dusted the seat of his pants off. "My turn?"

Kakashi glanced at the sun, then back to him. "You think you can do it in less than an hour?"

"Well, your favorite word is 'teamwork' - or so I heard," mused Naruto, tossing something up into the air. "MJOLNIR!"

Lightning crackled around the object, which shifted and grew into a two-handed sledge hammer decorated with yellow hemispheres on the hammer's head where the handle merged with it.

[Set Up]

[Barrier Jacket.  
Aggressive Mode.]

Naruto's clothing blurred and reformed, now he was wearing a duster-style coat over burnt orange clothing.

"Did that hammer just talk?" asked Sakura with a couple of twitches.

"Summoning!" said Naruto, slamming the butt-end of the weapon onto the ground. Runes formed in midair, rotating in a set of two circles around his weapon.

A disc formed nearby and hung there for a moment, then it jerked and expanded to over ten times the original size.

"Hmmm, that's odd," said Naruto. "Flight mode."

[Flight Mode Active.]

Seeing orange wings form on the hammer and on Naruto's back was a little startling. Seeing him leap fifty feet into the air and just hover there was a little more startling.

Sakura fell to her unresponsive knees and screamed like a little girl when the pseudo-reptillian head came through the disc. Which really wasn't her fault as she WAS a little girl after all. As the head was big enough to swallow her and Sasuke whole in a single snap, having a purely instinctive reaction wasn't all that unexpected.

The head was followed by a neck, and then the rest of the body followed.

"Sparunthakurus?" asked Naruto.

"**Naruto?**" asked the dragon in a voice that was sufficiently deep that Sakura would later swear her bones vibrated. "**I'm sorry, but my son is too busy to play right now. Remedial Elvish lessons.**"

"Oh," said Naruto. "Well, can you give me a hand then?" He pointed at where Kakashi had just uncovered his Sharingan and was staring. "I'm being tested. I'm supposed to go after him as if my life depended on killing him, and take the two bells off of him."

"**He wants you to rip his balls off?**" asked the dragon, peering closer at the scarecrow-like figure. "**Just when I think I'm beginning to understand humans, they pull something like this.**"

Kakashi predictably dropped both hands to cover a portion of his anatomy but didn't stop staring.

"Th-th-that's a dragon?" squeaked Sakura, who had gotten her mouth working again.

"It's not a genjutsu?" asked Kakashi, who had really really really been hoping that his Sharingan would have revealed an illusion.

"No, we're supposed to get those bells off his belt for some sort of test," continued Naruto. "Unfortunately, between him arriving late and my team members wanting to demonstrate their mad ninja skillz, we're almost out of time."

"**Ah, I see,**" said the dragon, sitting back on her hindlegs and snapping her wings out in a dramatic gesture.

Sasuke was feeling something he'd never expected to feel before. Envy. He wanted one of those so badly he could taste it. The idea of him atop that dragon, as it snarled and held Itachi down with its claws. Followed by a little crunching noise, of course.

Sakura twitched repeatedly and tried not to pee her pants. The dragon was over fifty feet long with scales that looked like ancient bronze. She hid behind Sasuke and tried to get her shaking under control.

Glaring down at the target, Sparunthakurus (which was just a short but formal name and not her full name of course) let her aura produce the dragonfear and directed it towards the tiny figure of the human target. A minor illusion let her eyes glow a baleful yellow and her teeth glimmer menacingly.

_KA-THUD!_

Nobody spared a glance for the fainted Sakura.

_dingle dingle_

Everyone DID glance at where Naruto was now holding up a pair of bells.

"That... what?" asked Kakashi, who glanced back and forth between the DRAGON and the two genin.

"Thanks! Say hello to Sparky for me, would you?" asked a cheerful Naruto.

Sasuke stared, managing to keep most of the shaking out of his legs, or saying something stupid and uncool like "D-d-dragon?" as he instead considered how cool it would be to be riding said dragon and simply have Itachi EATEN. Maybe he could scrape together enough money from an estate sale to make it a mission?

Naruto walked past Sasuke, idly tossing him a bell, and then considered the ungraceful heap that was Sakura.

"**I will. Play nice, little humans.**" said the big dragon as she vanished in a puff of smoke.

"So, do we pass?" asked Naruto.

Kakashi seemed to consider the question for a few moments, staring at Naruto. Then he very calmly and deliberately covered his Sharingan.

The Sharingan had revealed that the fifty plus foot long freaking DRAGON had not been a genjutsu. It had been entirely real as far as he could tell. Further, from Naruto's comments, the dragon was the ally of one of his genin and apparently a mother. With Naruto being a friend of her son. He got that. Really, he did. Might have some problems wrapping his mind around several important parts of the concept, but he got it.

Naruto had leapt up into the air and had just stood there without any apparent support. This was atypical of genin in general.

With a genin who had a) gathered intel beforehand, b) demonstrated pretty damn useful skills, and c) was willing to put his team ahead of himself - normally he would be inclined to pass said genin.

Naruto had tossed something into the air and suddenly held a weapon. Not that unusual, but that he had such a thing indicated some basic proficiency in its use.

There were other considerations though. Giving a slight wave and waggle of fingers at the sudden profusion of ANBU in the dozens, Kakashi considered how best to put this in the most diplomatic fashion.

"No."

"Excuse me?" asked Naruto and Sasuke together.

"I'm pretty sure I never said it was okay to summon a dragon," explained Kakashi. "Sometimes, despite being ninja, we DO have to follow the rules."

"You didn't forbid me summoning a dragon," pointed out Naruto. Who felt that in terms of general coolness, he ought to get extra credit for doing so.

"Plus, you got the two bells, but one of your team is down," pointed out Kakashi.

"I was wondering about that," said Naruto. "You'd think she'd never seen a dragon before."

"Uhm, dobe?" Sasuke held one hand up. "Most likely she never DID see a dragon before. Mythical fantasy creatures?"

"Oh yeah," said Naruto with a shrug. "Not my fault she spends all her time studying and doesn't get out much."

"Now, you've only got a half-hour to complete the test," said Kakashi.

"But I've got one bell, and Sasuke has the other," pointed out Naruto.

"Yes, by summoning a dragon," said Kakashi, shaking his head. "I ought to pass the dragon and send all three of you back."

"So if we defeat you, we pass?" asked Naruto.

"Well..." began Kakashi.

"RING BIND!" cast Naruto, causing magical rings to close on Kakashi's wrists and ankles.

Kakashi blinked.

Sasuke leapt forward, ready to demonstrate what a ninja with several years taijutsu training could do to an immobilized opponent.

_B-domf_

"Wow, I didn't even notice him exchange himself with a shadow clone," noted Naruto. "Hey, ANBU-san? Can you all back up some? In order to find and flatten my sensei, I'm gonna have to cut loose some."

The various ANBU considered that, then the bulk just vanished into the shadows. The remaining one regarded Naruto, then addressed the air. "Kakashi Hatake. There better be a full report on this. Filed within two hours."

The last ANBU vanished.

Naruto nodded, slammed the butt of his weapon on the ground, causing similar runes to appear in midair around him and his weapon. "Wide Area Search!"

Six yellow globes shot away from him.

Three seconds later, Naruto opened his eyes. "Found you!"


	2. Chapter 2: Genin Exam Daze

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

Chapter 2: Genin Exam Daze

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew within a few minutes that he should watch and see what was going on with Kakashi's Team 7 test. He used his Telescope technique, which basically turned a crystal ball or mirror into a remote-viewing device.

He'd watched the dragon manage to cause one of the genin to faint. He watched as the dragon dismissed herself. He watched as the ANBU showed up.

He also watched as Kakashi apparently dug himself into a hole.

"He has some jutsu that allows him to find things?" asked an ANBU present. "That'd be handy."

The Third Hokage nodded slightly, not bothering to correct the ANBU. The test with the young Hyuga and Naruto had concluded with Naruto and himself having a little chat. Ninjutsu was slightly different from what Naruto was doing, but similar in some ways. So it was something that the Third had ordered labelled in the official records as hijutsu and specific to Naruto as the last of his clan.

That it was an excuse to set Naruto up as the functional head of a noble clan, tweak the noses of a few people on the council, and pull one over on a whole bunch of people who spent an inordinate amount of time annoying him - well, that was just a plus wasn't it?

"Lightning whip?" asked the ANBU. "He cut right through a tree with that."

"Ah, he has an attack which tracks and chases his target," said Sarutobi. "A useful technique."

"If Kakashi fails him after this, maybe he should go directly to ANBU," said the ANBU.

"Ah, a serpentine dragon formed of lightning that chases after a target, bites them, and then explodes into a ball of lightning," observed the Hokage. "It looks like Kakashi wasn't expecting that."

"Who would?" asked the ANBU.

"Tenzou? What is your opinion of Naruto's abilities?" asked the Hokage.

The ANBU glanced at his Hokage, considered the image carefully, before speaking at last. "He needs practice, particularly when working with others. Did you notice that the unconscious member of his team was a little too close to one of the discharges? Her head looks like a pink koosh ball."

"Didn't Kakashi read the ANBU report? Or did he just read the public report?" asked the Third Hokage, puffing thoughtfully at his pipe.

Tenzou's face was hidden behind his ANBU mask, and revealed nothing. He didn't need to say anything.

* * *

"So, did we pass the test?" asked Sasuke Uchiha.

"I dunno," said Naruto, then making a gesture at the various ANBU surrounding Kakashi. "Maybe if Kakashi fails us, we can get another instructor?"

"Sounds good," agreed Sasuke, eyeing the little trail of smoke coming off their assigned sensei.

"I wonder why he didn't believe me," said Naruto after awhile. "I know I told the Hokage everything. Even gave him contact info on the Bureau."

"Maybe he didn't look 'underneath the underneath'?" asked Sasuke, remembering the odd phrase.

* * *

Hiashi Hyuga had heard the boy talk. He'd also observed that the boy had grown, put on muscle mass he hadn't had, and had somehow increased not only the size of his chakra coils (which had already been pretty darn big) but the reservoir of both physical and spiritual strength that fueled chakra. He had also done so within roughly a half-hour.

Therefore, while he publicly scoffed at the idea that a year had passed for Naruto within a single minute, he had listened and not entirely dismissed the concept.

"He's what?" said one of the clan elders. "The foxboy?"

"Now the beginning of a clan with hijutsu of its own, possibly a bloodline," mused Hiashi as he used Byakugan to monitor his daughter making lunch. Not that it was anything unusual in that respect, just that there were things going on at the moment that were such that he was considering Hinata in something of a new light.

"That's completely unacceptable," said the elder.

"Perhaps," said Hiashi Hyuga, betraying no sign of inner conflict. "I'm recommending a neutral outlook for now. It is simply best if we watch and observe how best to make use of the changing circumstance."

* * *

Kakashi slouched as he regarded his genin team. Now, a day after having been zapped into unconsciousness, he was having to re-evaluate certain things.

"So, dobe, what exactly can you do?" asked Sasuke Uchiha.

"Well, I've got Thunder element," said Naruto, "and Wind element. I've got some basic spells, but it's the ones that do massive amounts of damage I specialize at. I've also got Shadow Clone."

"So you mainly do Thunder-element ninjutsu?" asked Sakura. "And that genjutsu from earlier?"

"What genjutsu?" asked Naruto.

"She means the dragon," said Sasuke.

"There's no such thing as dragons," said Sakura, twitching a little.

"Actually I was trying to summon her son," said Naruto apologetically. "HIM I've worked with before."

"Summons are very handy," admitted Kakashi. "So, you can summon that friend of yours?"

"Oh yeah," said Naruto. "If there's a specific need. You wanted teamwork, so I thought it would work out."

"Well, we get to do D-Rank missions," said Kakashi, holding up a scroll. "This is today's."

"Alright, is it some awesome mission? Something where we can show off our skills?" asked Naruto. "Where I can use my magic and get some practical experience? Or at least blow something up?"

"Painting fences!" said Kakashi, smiling behind his mask.

Dead silence from all three.

"Painting fences?" eventually asked Sasuke.

"Yes, that's it exactly," agreed Kakashi.

"We have to paint fences while fighting off vampire cows or mutant soldiers or ancient elemental evil or something?" asked Naruto hopefully.

"Not so much, no," said Kakashi.

"Defending our paint cans from enemy mages, err, ninja?" asked Naruto, losing a bit of hope but still trying.

"Not that either," said Kakashi. "Painting fences. There's some fences over on the East side that the paint's gotten a bit faded on."

* * *

_The next day:_

"Weeding an herb garden?" asked Naruto with a twitch.

"-and repairing a roof," pointed out Kakashi.

* * *

_The next day:_

"McNinja Burger?" asked Naruto with several twitches.

"Several people called in sick," pointed out Kakashi.

"It's not a strike from the 'Ninja Food Servers' Union is it?" asked Sakura. "That could be troublesome."

"No, nothing like that," lied Kakashi.

* * *

_The next day:_

"Catching a missing CAT?" asked Naruto.

"You get to practice that one spell of yours again," pointed out Kakashi.

* * *

_The next day:_

Naruto heard Kakashi explain the mission, then just folded his legs to sit down on the grass and sulk.

"Trash pickup?" asked Sasuke with some disbelief.

"Part of the 'Keep Konohagakure Clean' campaign," explained Kakashi.

* * *

_The next day:_

"That cat AGAIN?" asked Naruto with several twitches.

"This time, try not to use electrical attacks," warned Kakashi. "It took over a day for the cat to stop twitching."

* * *

_The next day:_

"Delivering takeout?" asked Naruto.

"Do a good job and you might get tips," pointed out Kakashi.

* * *

_The next day:_

"Delivering takeout AGAIN?" asked Naruto with a twitch.

"This time, Naruto, use a Sexy Jutsu and you might get tips instead of having customers deny delivery," appended Kakashi.

* * *

_The next day:_

"How many times does that damn cat go escaping?" asked Naruto.

"And don't blow the target up this time," cautioned Kakashi. "No matter how tempting it gets."

* * *

_The next day:_

"No!" declared Naruto. "I want a REAL mission."

"Feeding chickens, slopping pigs, milking cows," said Sakura. "How can Sasuke show off how cool he is with THAT sort of mission?"

* * *

_The next day:_

"While we wait for Sakura to be released from the hospital," said Kakashi, breaking the somber mood of the morning, "we have a mission."

"Who would have thought taking over for a sick farmer would be that hazardous?" asked Naruto.

"We were all doing fine until she tried to milk that bull," pointed out Sasuke.

"If you hadn't gone shirtless while plowing that field," countered Naruto.

"I was trying to let the shirt dry," pointed out Sasuke.

"Well, today's mission shouldn't be all that bad," interrupted Kakashi.

* * *

_The next day:_

"That would have been bad," pointed out Naruto. "Good thing I know protective spells and kage bunshin."

"This isn't going to be another D-Rank that goes horribly wrong, is it?" asked Sasuke.

"Well, as long as we can keep the cat from hiding in the women's baths, it shouldn't be a problem this time," said Kakashi, wincing at the Killing Intent coming off his two genin.

* * *

_The next day:_

"Glad you're back, Sakura," said Naruto as he glanced at his teammate. "When will they remove the cast on that arm?"

"About a week from now," said Sakura. "Sasuke! Can you sign my cast?"

"What's today's lame mission?" asked Sasuke of Kakashi, ignoring Sakura.

"You'll like this one," said Kakashi confidently. "There's absolutely no chance of anyone getting injured for one thing."

* * *

_The next day:_

"Okay," said Kakashi with a twitch. "With Sakura having a cast on her arm and another on the leg now, we're going to have to make allowances."

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee," said Sakura, spinning around on her chair.

"Not to mention how heavily medicated she is," noted Sasuke drily.

"I've never seen squirrels attack someone like that," admitted Naruto. "Much less cooperate like that."

"Well, they WERE ninja-trained attack squirrels," pointed out Kakashi.

"S-s-s-squirrels? WHERE?" asked Sakura, now hiding behind Sasuke and peering nervously in all directions.

"Don't worry, Sakura, the nasty squirrels are all gone," said Kakashi as calmly as he could. "Naruto killed them all."

"Sasuke fireballed a bunch of them," pointed out Naruto.

Sasuke nodded at Naruto, acknowledging the credit.

"Well, today's mission is a little dangerous," said Kakashi, "so we'll be leaving Sakura to watch the cart while we go rat-hunting."

* * *

"Daisy, daisy,  
Give me your answer true,  
I'm half-crazy,  
Falling in love with you..." sang Sakura.

"Couldn't we leave Sakura at the hospital?" asked Naruto. "She's running out of limbs to break."

Kakashi considered that for a few minutes, eyeing the casts Sakura had on three limbs, the bandaging covering about half of her head, and the heavily medicated idiotic grin on her face. "You might have something there."

"I'd ask that we not be given a completely lame mission this time, but I'm becoming convinced that the universe has it out for us," said Sasuke. "If Naruto didn't have homing attacks and flight, just those berserker rats would have become a problem."

"Rats getting into the soldier pills was a little much," agreed Naruto.

"Well, this time we can leave Sakura on the cart, parked further away from the worksite, and do something you might consider fun," said Kakashi. "You get to demolish a building so that a new one can be built."

* * *

Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, looked at the group before him as he considered things.

"So, you guys too?" asked Kakashi of the other two jonin.

"D-Rank missions?" asked Maito Gai, unusually sober.

"D-Rank missions that suddenly and unexpectedly blew up into full scale disasters?" clarified Kurenai Yuhi.

"What happened to your genin?" asked Kakashi. "Mine were injured when the building we were assigned to destroy turned out to have explosive tags hidden in the walls."

"Kiba Inuzuka was practicing with Akamaru, leaping from tree to tree, when he found a wasp nest with an unusually aggressive and virulent species of wasp," said Kurenai Yuhi. "He and Akamaru are still recovering. Shino Aburame, on the other hand, was on a cat-retrieval mission when he discovered the cat hiding in the woman's bath section of the hot springs. As Hinata was unavailable that day due to injuries received in special training from her father, Shino went in loudly declaring his intent to just retrieve the cat. Unfortunately, he was either not heard or misinterpreted. I myself was visiting Kiba at the time since Shino had been able to accomplish the mission on his own before."

"They are getting rather violent over there at the hot springs lately," admitted Kakashi.

"My team," said Gai. "Neji Hyuga was supremely confident in his ability to accomplish a certain mission and stated that the others would simply slow him down."

"Oh, I bet that went over well," said Kurenai.

"Yes, well, it WAS a fairly simple mission," admitted Gai. "He was in a mood, he frequently has those - in this case wanting to be alone and brood in a most unyouthful manner. He was simply to inspect a dam being constructed along a nearby river for structural problems, as the client felt that one of the builders might have been skimming funds."

"Okay," said Kurenai. "That sounds simple enough, and Neji being a Hyuga would be ideal for something like that. How did it go wrong?"

"Squirrels," said Gai with a frown. "Apparently trained attack squirrels."

"Neji Hyuga, the prodigy of the Hyuga house, rookie of the year of his graduation, was felled by squirrels?" asked an incredulous Kurenai.

"Don't underestimate ninja attack squirrels," cautioned Kakashi. "One of my genin was traumatized by a similar attack."

"Lee, on the other hand," continued Gai, "was assisting the bakery that makes that melon bread."

"The one near the East gate?" asked Kurenai.

"That is indeed the one," agreed Gai. "Slipped on a rolling pin. His face was caught in the assembly line."

"Ouch," said Kakashi. "How bad?"

"He lost his eyebrows but his eyes weren't damaged, the medics had to reconstruct his face a little though," said Gai.

"So each of us has exactly one genin still on the active list," noted Kakashi.

"Exactly," said the Hokage, as they'd figured out why they were all here together. "As you know, Naruto Uzumaki is a new kind of ninjutsu specialist."

"I know that now," said Kakashi.

"He is?" asked Kurenai.

"He is?" asked Gai at the same time.

"Doesn't anyone read the ANBU reports?" asked the Hokage. "I did have it put out that there had been changes."

Several embarassed looks were the reply to his question.

The Hokage muttered something about complacency and pride going before falls before getting back onto the subject. With this sort of attitude no wonder a failed Academy student could sneak into his tower and steal an S-rank scroll and then get away. "Naruto has a rank outside of Konoha, as an operative and agent for a group called the Time/Space Administration Bureau. Essentially a police force that deals with problems that go beyond the scope of a single country."

"Is that all right?" asked Kurenai. "It's not exactly standard protocol for any ninja, much less a genin fresh out of the Academy, to have a loyalty to anything besides his own village."

"Special case," said the Hokage. "Part of the agreement they came to regarding such was that any work they had for Naruto had to be placed as a ninja mission. Even if the rest of his team would be ill-suited for such work."

"Sounds like a compromise solution that the council had their hand in," said Kakashi.

"It is," agreed the Hokage. "Captain Harlaown?"

A door opened and a woman with long green hair entered. "Please, call me Lindy. I have a mission for Naruto to perform, and I understand that this has to be presented as a team exercise."

"One of you three will have to be the jonin instructor on this mission," said the Hokage. "It will be considered a C-Rank for purposes of pay and records."

"What is the mission objective?" asked Kakashi.

"Diplomatic," said the Hokage.

"Naruto made several friends and associates during his year with us," began Lindy.

"Year?" asked Kurenai.

"Time compression," said Lindy. "He would have been gone less than an hour here. It's not normally done, but happened in this case."

"It actually was just over a minute," put in the Hokage. "Which everyone would have noticed if they'd read the report."

"So, the mission objective?" asked Kakashi, not wanting to dwell on his own regrets in not having spent the time to check out the ANBU reports.

* * *

Naruto waited around, hating this whole 'mysterious ninja' thing his sensei had started getting into. When his eye caught a nearby trashcan, a smile fit into place. Why not make use of the time rather than be bored?

"Mjolnir," said Naruto, summoning his Intelligent Device.

[Set Up  
Active].

"Mjolnir," said Naruto, setting the device to the side. "I saw Nanoha do this once. Keep score."

[Yes, sir]

Naruto picked a can out of the trash, took a few steps away, then tossed it into the air. As it went up into the air, he formed a thumbnail-sized spark of lightning at the tip of one finger. "Shoot!"

_PANG!_ went the can, going up further. As it began to come back down after that, the little ball circled around and slammed into it again, driving the can back up.

[Two, Three, Four, Five, Six]

Naruto concentrated on the exercise, his eyes closed and only focussed in on the task.

[Twenty-two, Twenty-three, Twenty-four, Twenty-five]

At one point he struck off-center and then had to adjust the next three shots to bring the can back to where it needed to be.

[Seventy-eight, Seventy-nine, Eighty...]

* * *

Hinata had arrived, seen Naruto, and then seen what Naruto was doing.

So she just sat quietly on one of the benches and watched in pleased wonder as her fiance (having heard of that from her father, as well as his advice that she could get out of it at any point) demonstrated more qualities that she found admirable.

[One hundred fifty, One hundred fifty two, One hundred fifty four...]

* * *

Kakashi shook his head as he led the other two jonin, the visitor, the Hokage, and two chunin along to the meeting place that had been specified. "I don't know about this. I understand that the genin need to work with each other, but the chunin exams aren't that far off."

"And you want Naruto and your team to have a surprise for all the other genin that might be competing," said Kurenai.

"Why should I be the only one getting a little surprise like that?" asked Kakashi reasonably.

"I see your point," said the Hokage. "And the less people that know the details the better for now. He's listed in the open files as having several hijitsu and possibly a related kekkei genkai. Make sure your students know not to reveal too many details about this trip or Naruto's abilities."

"That goes against the grain," protested Kurenai. "I've always been above board with my students."

"I, well, actually I have less problem with it," said Gai. "If Neji Hyuga doesn't know what to expect, he's already been openly contemptuous of his cousin and her fiance."

"I thought he was joking," mused Kakashi. "Hinata Hyuga and Naruto? That's just so wrong. What's that noise?"

The group got to the meeting spot and looked up where a bright little ball was flying around, knocking a can up into the air.

[One hundred ninety two, One hundred ninety five, One hundred ninety eight, Two hundred]

With a loud spang, the little ball knocked the can towards the trashbin. It hit the rim and fell to clatter on the ground.

"Aw, CRAP!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Close," said Lindy Harlaown into the silence. "You're almost as good as Nanoha."

"Eh?" asked Naruto as he became aware he had an audience.

"That was 'homing bullet' wasn't it?" asked Kakashi, having gotten way too darn familiar with it for his own comfort.

"Lower powered version for target practice," admitted Naruto. "Hinata?"

Gai cleared his throat. "Kakashi? Will you be entering your students in the chunin exam?"

"That's a few months away yet, isn't it?" asked Kakashi.

"A month and a half," said Kurenai.

"Oh," said Kakashi. "I seem to lose track of time..."

"We've noticed," said Kurenai, Gai, the Hokage, and several ANBU - including one of whom had just stuck his head up out of a flowerpot.

"Hokage-sama," said Gai. "It might be a good trial for THAT rule during these exams."

"THAT rule?" asked the Hokage, considering something briefly. "Yes. It might be appropriate to give it a try."

"Which rule is that?" asked Kurenai, not too proud to ask.

"Extra points are given for pulling out impressive moves and abilities in the individual combat portion," said the Hokage. "There will also be a vote for Best Support, with extra points awarded to the genin who most demonstrates their abilities in supporting their team."

"Ah, I see," said Kurenai. "That way you discourage people from doing one-hit wins when the heads of state and potential employers are watching."

"Exactly," said the Hokage, pleased that someone immediately understood the reasoning behind the rule.

"Kakashi, I'll make a side-bet with you," said Gai. "That my team gets more points for being spectacular!"

Kakashi considered that he had a freaking WIZARD and an UCHIHA on his team. Well, Sakura might get a few points for Support or a sympathy vote or two. "All right."

"I might want in on this," said Kurenai.

"Eh?" asked Kakashi and Gai simultaneously.

"If MY team scores or gets ahead on points," said Kurenai with a speculative look at the two. "You, Gai, get a haircut. I'll even pay. I think I know just the style for you."

"Wh-wh-wha-WHAT?" asked Maito Gai in disbelief.

"Whereas," said Kurenai, looking VERY mischievious, "you Kakashi would have to wear an outfit I pick out for a day. Dawn to dusk."

Kakashi felt VERY nervous at that look. "And if I were to win?"

Kurenai's mischievous smile didn't alter a bit. "Well, then I'll wear an outfit YOU pick out. Same conditions."

"Done," said Kakashi very quickly.

"So if I win, you get a haircut that I specify?" asked Gai.

"If you got her a bowl cut, half the unmarried ninja in the village would be trying to kill you in a slow and painful manner," pointed out Kakashi. "Not to mention what Anko might do."

"Uhm, how about wearing an outfit then?" said Gai, who had no fears about a direct personal attack, but not all ninja were fond of being straightforward.

The three exchanged a look and nodded. Each beginning to make plans to cheat in one fashion or another. They were ninja after all.


	3. Chapter 3:Mage Testing

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

Chapter 3: Mage Testing

* * *

The jonin were off talking with the Hokage, and Naruto recognized Lindy Harlaown of course, who mainly seemed amused.

His attention, however, was commanded by a girl whom he'd recently been locked in a room with before he'd spent a year (his time) adventuring with mages, and then returned to. A girl he'd learned he was engaged to. Not that he couldn't get out of it. Sasuke's Uncle Genma had NO legal authority over him, neither did Hinata's father.

That said, he also didn't have a particular reason to get rid of it. Yeah, she was a weird girl who hadn't been able to meet his gaze. On the other hand, she didn't seem to DISlike him and didn't being engaged mean you could be friends too?

There was also all the things that had been said by various friends made during that year who'd been able to get images of the girl while trying to find him his way home.

"So-" said Naruto, trying not to stare as that wasn't polite and just made her fidget a lot. "Uhm. We're engaged, eh?"

"Mff," agreed Hinata, blushing and staring at her twiddling fingers.

"Uhm, so, do you have any idea why?" asked Naruto, who thought it sounded odd. "Sasuke's Uncle bet your dad?"

"Hnnn," said Hinata, getting increasingly nervous.

"So you can get out of it if you decide you don't like me, right?" asked Naruto, thinking that if Hinata was being FORCED into this - it wasn't right.

"Wh-why wouldn't I li-like, I mean, ano-"

Seeing Hinata swaying back and forth like she was about to pass out, Naruto tried to figure this out. There were those in TSAB who'd looked at Hinata, overheard his comments about her, and had come to the conclusion that she LIKED him. _Could they be right? After all, wouldn't a girl know more about the subject of girls?_

Naruto shrugged as Hinata continued to play with her fingers and look nervous. _What should I do? Hey, I know!_ "So, erm, Hinata-chan, when we get to Mid-Childa, how about we go out on a date or something?"

"Eeep!" squeaked Hinata.

_Well, she didn't say 'no' but she's just kind of frozen in place._ Naruto scratched his head. _Maybe she doesn't like me but there's some sort of family honor thing? It wouldn't be the first time someone's given me bad advice._

"O-okay," stuttered Hinata, a little smile showing up on her face.

* * *

Tenten wasn't sure what to make of all this. Over there was her sensei, plus two other jonin and the Hokage. Plus a woman in odd clothing.

She glanced around and there was Naruto talking to Hinata. So this was a joint mission with people between teams?

As she approached her sensei, he reacted with his usual over-the-top theatrical gestures - including shooting her a thumb's up. She tuned out most of what he said as she tried to boil it down to basics. Which was basically a greeting and asking her to work together with the other genin.

"Now that Tenten is here, shall we get our mission underway?" asked Gai.

"Captain Harlaown? I leave my shinobi in your care for the duration of this mission," said the Hokage, tipping his hat slightly before retreating a good distance away.

Tenten frowned. _'Captain'? So she owns a ship or something? She isn't dressed like a fisherman._

"_Asura_," said the woman, holding an odd device up. "This is Captain Harlaown. Transport. Four adults including myself. Three children."

At which point Tenten suddenly found her surroundings fading out and...

She was somewhere else?

"Naruto, you already know me, but for you two, I'll introduce myself," said the woman with a slight bow. "I'm Captain Lindy Harlaown. Welcome to my ship, the _Asura_ - a battleship of the Time/Space Administration Bureau. We'll be arriving at Mid-Childa in about a half hour."

Tenten felt a flash of embarassment, followed by a stirring of interest. _Not a fisher after all, but the Captain of a warship?_

"Tenten," said Gai-sensei. "We are on a diplomatic mission. Be on your best behavior."

"'Diplomatic'?" asked Tenten, her eyes going to Naruto again. His reputation was well known, though she never HAD quite figured out why so many adults hated him. Not taken him seriously, sure - plenty of things to have THAT kind of reputation. Still, he was loud and what she'd seen - he had about as much diplomacy in him as she herself had testosterone.

"By the way, TSAB will not paying for more than one team," said the Captain. "It was difficult enough getting authorization for this much."

"Not a problem," the older jonin assured the captain. "We're just here as observers. Kurenai is in charge of the genin team."

"Ah, so you decided which of you was in charge of the genin by some sort of consensus?" asked Captain Harlaown.

"Rock, paper, scissors," said the female jonin.

"A diplomatic mission?" asked Naruto. "Oh, is this the treaty with the dragons?"

"'dragons'?" asked Tenten skeptically. _What's he going on about now?_

* * *

"oooh yessss, right there Sasuke!"

Sasuke Uchiha slowly opened one eye. He was still in the hospital. Still sharing a room with Sakura.

"Oh, I spilled cherry syrup on you, let me lick it off," said a giggling Sakura.

With the one eye visible, Sasuke glanced over at the other bed. There was a good seven feet seperating the two beds. In his opinion, that wasn't enough.

"Oh, yes, just like that Sasuke-kun!"

Slowly and deliberately, Sasuke got up out of bed. He gathered his crutches, and went to the nurse's desk. Screw this, he could heal faster at home.

With three limbs in casts (her left arm having avoided injury so far), her head half-covered in bandages, wearing a neck brace, lying on her front while the skin grafts on her back healed, and heavily medicated, Sakura continued to dream her little dreams.

* * *

Lacquered and begemmed nails tapped lightly on the armrests of her palanquin.

She was dressed as befitted her station. The most talented and beautiful princess, a powerful sorceress, a fashionista extraordinaire, and the most skilled alchemist in her entire nation. Well, this last since her Aunt got kicked out of the country and fell to her death with her henchman into a minefield which abruptly started blowing up. Nobody Could Have Survived That.

Ahem. Yes, Most skilled and beautiful alchemist. Even if her specialty were golem manufacture and enchantment.

She was Kodako Naga, the Princess of Najirea.

"Is everything prepared?" said the thirteen-year-old. "There must be no mistakes."

"Everything is as you ordered, Princess," said one of the magical golems.

The Princess snapped open a fan so that she could commence one of the scariest laughs in the multiverse.

* * *

Tenten looked over the cabin and was slightly weirded out. Which was saying a lot when you considered who her usual sensei and teammates were.

"I didn't bring a lot of supplies with me," complained Tenten. She'd figured this was just going to be another D-Rank painting fences or walking dogs. They were outside of the village though, so it was AT LEAST a C-Rank. Diplomatic mission to another country? Heck, that might be B-Rank!

"I... didn't prepare for a long mission either," said Hinata.

"We've already arranged for supplies," said Kurenai Yuhi, going over the room and examining it.

"So, it's a diplomatic mission, but what are the details?" asked Tenten.

"Don't tell Naruto," said Kurenai, directing her gaze to Hinata.

"Wh-what? But why?" asked Hinata.

"Apparently he has some," Kurenai paused as she considered how best to put this, "sort of issues with the person we'll be protecting. I don't know all the details. There will be a treaty with the Princess Of Najirea and Mid-Childa. Mid-Childa, and its Time/Space Administration Bureau, are our clients. One of the things they are wanting to gauge is how well Leaf shinobi can work alongside their mage-operatives."

"'Mage'?" asked Tenten.

"As near as I can tell, these operatives use specialized jutsu," said Kurenai. "Part of the agreement with Konohagakure is that Naruto is the only licensed mage-operative and has a rank within their organization."

"Naruto? I admit he looks a little different," admitted Tenten, "but isn't he the same guy who used to paint over the Hokage's faces and talk about how awesome he is while mainly being kind of pathetic?"

"He's changed, changed a lot," said Kurenai. "Now, you two. An order from the Hokage himself is that neither of you can reveal what you see on this trip."

"Why?" asked Tenten, checking out a sink that had no handles.

"Mostly because right now, none of the other villages know about our new partners and relationships, nor about Naruto's abilities," said Kurenai. "There are a number of rumors about Naruto, but the more fantastic elements aren't getting repeated. Mainly because they ARE so hard to believe. Any of his 'special' talents are considered hijutsu of the Uzumaki clan per a binding agreement with the Bureau."

"So until there's an official disclosure, keep things quiet," interpreted Tenten.

"I d-don't have any difficulties with that, Kurenai-sensei," came Hinata's quiet reply.

"Yeah, I guess I can live with that," agreed Tenten.

"So, Hinata," said Kurenai, seeing a chance to derail that speculative look in Tenten's eyes, "I overheard Naruto making a date with you."

"Oh?" asked Tenten, eyeing the Hyuga girl.

"Eto, that is, I mean," fidgeted Hinata.

* * *

"So you're taking your fiancee out on a date?" asked Kakashi. "So young."

"Well, he is a ninja who might die on a mission at any time," said Gai. "Certainly the rash of D-Rank missions going wrong has indicated that just remaining in Konoha isn't safe."

"Yeah, I know a couple of places to eat, and there's a weapon store, and a few other places I can show her," said Naruto.

"Taking his first date out to a weapon store," said Gai, looking off into the distance. "Ah, I remember it well."

"You've actually dated?" asked Kakashi. Despite his mask and only having one eye uncovered, he was able to convey base disbelief.

"Much like you, my rival, I was the victim of a love triangle back in my days as a chunin," said Gai. "Alas, also like you, it didn't work out well."

"What happened?" asked Naruto. Now that someone didn't mind associating with him, he was reluctant to see anything shatter that connection.

"She died," said Gai-sensei. "I went through a period where the love of my life had left a great emptiness in my heart. Which was when I found a new purpose to fill my life!"

"The 'flames of youth'?" asked Kakashi, thinking that something suddenly made sense.

"Exactly!" declared Gai with a 'nice guy' pose.

"My situation was a little more complicated," said Kakashi.

"One girl was in love with you, while another guy was in love with her, and you were focussed on duty," said Guy, sitting on a table edge and nodding solemnly. "Exactly the same situation as myself, except in my own case I was the lovestruck one who was ignored by the girl. I was sure that someday I would win her heart when she saw that her own beloved did not return her affections. Alas, the life of a shinobi is fraught with Peril."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the way Guy put it, not that he could disagree with it entirely. "Well, it's also what happened to Jiraiya, one of the Three Legenday Shinobi of the Leaf. He's now a best-selling author, but he used to pursue the girl on his genin team but her heart belonged to Orochimaru."

"Who went on to betray the Leaf Village and become an S-class criminal," pointed out Gai. "Love triangles are bad news for all concerned."

"I see," said a now-thoughtful Naruto.

"Happy love lives and being a shinobi are rarely compatible," said Kakashi in a regretful tone.

* * *

"Sasuke?"

"He's gone home," said Ino, putting a vase with a couple of flowers on the stand next to the bed. "Are you sane at the moment?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Sakura, putting aside the usual insult-trading as she considered her chief rival and main enemy/former BFF.

"The last time I was in, you were singing 'YMCA' - and you weren't even hitting the right keys," answered Ino.

"I was? I mean 'yeah right' - there's no way," said Sakura.

"Yes, you were," said a nurse who stuck her head in the door. "That's why your medication was adjusted. Push the button when the pain gets to be too much."

Sakura was silent for a few moments after the nurse left.

"So," said Ino. "Two concussions, Both legs and your right arm broken, neck injury, broken rib, lacerations to the left side of your head, both arms bruised, severe laceration - that means a scrape right? - to your back. Skin grafts there. That's why you are on your stomach by the way."

"I've been having a bad week," said Sakura.

"Yeah, I've only broken ONE leg," said Ino, hobbling around to a better position to talk to Sakura.

"How'd that happen?" asked Sakura, wincing at the pain beginning to making itself known.

"Fence painting, I was on a ladder," said Ino, making a face. "Then another team on a cat-catching mission knocked the ladder over. I would have still been okay if I hadn't landed on the buckets."

"So, the rest of your team?" asked Sakura.

"Choji got ahold of some improperly cooked beef tenders," said Ino. "Food poisoning. He's out for awhile. Shikamaru got blown up."

"I can empathize," said Sakura. "Is he alive?"

"Oh he's fine," said Ino. "Just burned around the edges and broke an arm when he landed in that dumpster."

"I never knew that 'D-Rank' missions would be that dangerous," admitted Sakura.

* * *

Tenten had stood next to the others on the odd circles and had watched as, to her viewpoint, the ship was there one eyeblink and the next blink was on a city street.

"Look at all the moons," said Hinata, her voice a whisper that everyone else was able to hear only because nobody else was even breathing.

Tenten could agree with the sentiment. There had to be over a dozen moons in the sky.

When she could tear her gaze away from THAT, she could note the buildings as well. Taller than anything she'd seen in Konoha, these were monoliths reaching hundreds of feet into the air. Most were taller than the Hokage Mountain, some would have dwarfed that.

"Welcome to Mid-Childa," said Naruto, stepping next to Hinata. "Come on, I'll show you the supplies store I found here the last time."

* * *

Naruto led the group as Captain Harlaown went to report in to her own chain-of-command. There was a bad moment when Maito Gai had to be talked out of attacking a nine foot tall spider-being, but things smoothed out when they got on the Light Rail to another section of the city.

The gleaming towers were replaced with something a little closer to what they were used to, with brick and stucco and buildings under five stories in height.

"You can tell why I started coming here," said Naruto over his shoulder as they left the odd mass-transit vehicle.

"Because everything else was so new and strange that you could unwind a little here among more familiar surroundings?" asked Kurenai.

"Yeah," said Naruto, glancing back at the red-eyed woman.

"You spent time elsewhere?" asked Kakashi.

"Undercover assignment outside the Five Nations area," said Kurenai with a miniscule shrug. "Details are still classified."

"Ah," said Kakashi, accepting that. It wasn't uncommon after all, and kunoichi DID tend to get assignments like that more than the male shinobi.

"This way," said Naruto, nodding to the person behind the counter of a ramen shop, then ducking down the alley to the side of it.

"Why did I know there would be one of those involved?" asked Kakashi of no single individual in particular.

The alley went down a few stairs to a dirty-looking door set in the brick wall with several odd languages posted around it.

"This is it," said Naruto, opening the door and motioning Hinata to go in.

When Hinata went in, she came to a complete halt, requiring Tenten to tap the girl on the shoulder to get her to move.

"byakugan," whispered Hinata, using her bloodlimit. Which was really handy for someone as short as she was when taller people were crowded around.

Two stories high, with ladders on tracks that could be scooted over to particular sections.

"Naruto! It's been awhile," said a stooped over old woman who wouldn't have looked out of place going to bingo and knitting shawls.

"Hey, Granny," said Naruto. "Need some supplies."

"Oh, well, you've come to the right place then," said the woman.

"Tenten? Tenten?" said Kurenai. "Stop drooling."

Knives, shuriken, kunai, throwing axes. Everywhere she looked, there were pointy-stabby bits of beauty. Some gleamed silver-chrome. Others seemed made of blackened material, while still others were dark green or glistening blued steel. Tenten let out a brief squeal as she went to a barrel marked [50% Discount] and began looking over the mayhem for sale.

"Hmmm," said Kurenai, walking around a plastic mannequin wearing odd armor.

"If you give me a list of what you need, I'll get right on it," said the old woman, rummaging around in her apron pocket and producing a pad and pencil.

* * *

"Hmph," said Princess Kodako Naga Kuzco. "Really. Can't they adjust their weather or something? It's entirely too hot."

"We don't have weather magics either," said the ragdoll maid.

"Miss Notch," said the Princess with a sniff.

"Sorry, my lady," said the somewhat-evil steam-powered ragdoll-golem maid.

"Remember," lectured the Princess of Najirea, "we must maintain our poise and image lest we lose bargaining ground. Our kingdom mainly produces high quality alcoholic beverages, and our magical studies are at least a few hundred years behind them. As long as we maintain a strong image though, we have room to bluff and negotiate."

"It is as you say, my Princess," said Miss Notch.

* * *

"Most of it was crap," said Tenten, looking down into the barrel of mayhem. "This was the only thing that really caught my eye."

"A good choice," said the proprietor. "Most of the items in there have minor defects, I couldn't sell them full-price."

"This, on the other hand," said Tenten, holding her choice up. "THIS is nice."

"It's a nice little throwing dagger, isn't it?" agreed the proprietor.

"What is it made of?" asked Tenten.

"A form of ceramic metal," said the shop owner. "Non magnetic, doesn't conduct electricity, keeps the edge well, won't rust."

"Interesting," admitted Tenten. "How do you make that kind of material, and do you have any kunai made of it?"

* * *

"Here ya go, Hinata," said Naruto, deciding that this would work. Guys who were engaged to a girl gave them gifts, right? They were both ninja, right?

"A-ano, Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata, sounding very uncertain.

"At first I thought of giving you a zanbato," explained Naruto, "but I don't know how good you are with swords. Then I thought what else could I get you that would help you on ninja missions? Especially with how some of 'em have been going lately."

"Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata. "What is it?"

* * *

She was a ninja of the most prestigious (surviving) clan of the Village Hidden In The Leaf. The oldest village and the one that began the whole system of ninja villages that started steering things away from hidden assassins who struck in the night whose only business was killing.

She was familiar with the legends and stories about it all, and how one day the head of the Senju Clan had taken the head of the Uchiha Clan aside and basically said "Hey, wouldn't it be great if we could kick back, have a few drinks, and NOT be trying to stab each other in the back all the time?"

Well, that probably wasn't exactly how it went down, but the basic idea was the same.

Since then, there were the ninja villages that followed Konoha's example. Why? Because it WORKED. Instead of having no permanent bases, constantly trying for advantage over the others, and getting knived in the back, one had the Hidden Village system. Which had permanent bases that were constantly trying for advantages over the others, getting knived in the back but more frequently in the front, and so on. As well as rules that kept the civilian population off the 'primary target' list. Which a lot of civilians would have appreciated more if it weren't for the missing-nin and bandits and other people who frequently ignored rules like that.

Her family relied on their byakugan and their jyuuken, disdaining other tools. If you fought a Hyuga, you knew what you were getting into. Which was a point of pride with the Hyuga clan.

Hinata wasn't the most skilled of warriors in her family technique though, wasn't exactly prideful, and her only concern with a new weapon or technique was how much of a problem her father was going to make out of it Part of her problem was that she was not the most self-confident of individuals. Part of her problem was that she was a ninja who lacked a desire to kill. She might have to kill on a mission, she WOULD kill if it would save a life, but it would be difficult for her. She'd hate doing it, and saw that as a confirmation of her father's label of being weak.

The scroll being offered her by her fiance, whom she had a crush on, was something entirely different. On the face of it, the path of a medic-nin was a step down from the warrior-leader her father wanted her to be. That it might suit her nature better was beside the point.

On the other hand, because it WAS her fiance offering it to her, she could hardly refuse could she? You had to make allowances for such a thing, right? It was only proper.

"T-t-thank you," mumbled Hinata, blushing some more, fidgeting, and managing a shy smile while meeting Naruto's eyes out of the corner of her own.

"Hey, if you need any help with that, just ask," said Naruto with a smile.

Hinata was sure her little heart was going to burst from the sudden overdose of Warm And Fuzzy Feelings swelling up in her. Either that or her heart was just going to melt down into a little red puddle. She figured 50/50 odds. Better to turn her attention to the subject at hand.

"Is this... jutsu?" asked Hinata, unfurling the scroll a little.

"Yeah, one of my friends around here has access to this really big library," explained Naruto. "So I asked about getting some of this for you."

"O-o-oh," squeaked Hinata. _Naruto-kun talks to his friends about me?_

"Yeah, uhm, so this is part of what that agreement indicates is a 'hijutsu' but since you're my fiancee it should be okay, right?" asked Naruto.

Hinata's eyes snapped to Naruto in mid-fidget. _Family or clan techniques? Shared with me? Then... he's really okay with the engagement? But how? Does that mean, could it be..._

"Oh, there's something," said Naruto, pointing. "This is an outfitter's supply store. I used to come here all the time. You got anything for ranged combat?"

"N-no," said a self-conscious Hinata, thinking maybe that Naruto would realize how pathetic she really was when he found out she didn't have anything like that beyond basic kunai skills.

"Well, here's something that might help," said Naruto, taking her hand and leading her towards the display he'd spotted.

Hinata was sure her face had just discovered an entirely new shade of red. _Naruto's hand is so warm and his skin is so rough, but his hands are... oh no, I'm going to faint! I mustn't faint!_

"Here we go," said Naruto. "I got a little of the local money saved up. I can get one of these for you. How well can you use a bow?"

_Bracelets? He's taken me to look at jewelry? It's too soon! Too fast! I - I - I'm not ready for this?_

"Hinata?" asked Naruto. "Are you okay? You look pretty..." _Oh crap, I can't say she looks pretty out of it. She'll get mad. Sakura sure would._

Hinata's eyes snapped to Naruto again. _H-h-he called me pretty?_ Her eyes proceeded to roll up into her head.

Naruto managed to catch her on the way down. "Hinata?"

Kurenai Yuhi appeared from apparently nowhere, smirking at nothing in particular. "Naruto. Why don't you carry your fiancee to our rooms? She's obviously feeling a little overwhelmed by events."

"Right," said Naruto, not understanding this at all. "Is she okay?"

"I don't think it's serious with that smile on her face like that," said Kurenai. "Probably she's just tired and spent too much time practicing her family style. I've heard that the training there is pretty harsh."

"I'm afraid that'll have to wait," said one of several people in matching uniforms as they approached. "Naruto Uzumaki? If you'll come with me, you've been assigned for rank testing."

"If you others would like to attend," said a woman in the same uniform, "we have arranged VIP seating."

* * *

Tenten wasn't quite sure what the woman had meant by some sort of test for Naruto.

That they'd been escorted to some sort of arena or stadium had been a little concerning.

"So, what is all this?" asked Kakashi as their new guide led them to a spectator box.

"The Princess of Najirea is in attendance and requested this sort of thing as a form of entertainment," said the guide they'd just been handed off to, a very young blonde girl with some sort of pole weapon.

"Whoa, look at the crowds," said Gai-sensei, looking out the window.

"The audience for this event seems to exceed the total population of Konoha," noted Kurenai as she looked herself.

"It's a small portion of the populace of the city actually," said the blonde girl. "I'm Fate, by the way."

Tenten couldn't help but stare for a moment, before shaking her head. If Neji ever met her, that would be amusing perhaps.

"This is just a quick duel between two mages," said Fate. "The administration bureau felt that they could combine it with a rank testing, and those always draw a few people."

A holographic display flickered into place before the window.

"N-Naruto-kun?" squeaked Hinata, though she'd half-expected it when she'd woken up on the trip over.

"Huh, so he's being tested?" asked Tenten. "Tested on what?"

"[Mage Rank Test Commencing. Subject: Naruto Uzumaki.]" said the holographic image.

Naruto made a gesture and was abruptly holding that hammer and wearing the burnt orange clothing with the darker duster-style coat.

* * *

"Mjolnir!" said Naruto.

[Set Up]  
[Barrier Jacket: Aggressive Mode]

"So, I'm being tested, eh?" asked Naruto, gripping the handle of his sledgehammer. "Don't tell me it's against-"

* * *

"[Testing Mage: Nanoha Takamichi]" said the hologram.

"She's young," said Kurenai as the girl appeared on the hologram, raising an eyebrow.

"She's... talented," said Fate. "I hope Naruto doesn't lose too badly."

"N-Naruto won't give up," said Hinata, "he doesn't always win but he always does his best!"

"Yeah, that's Naruto all right," said Fate, sounding amused. "He's fought alongside Nanoha and he's fought Nanoha. Nanoha's upgraded though. Naruto hasn't."

"So you know Naruto?" asked Kurenai.

"Yeah, you could say that," said Fate. "Still, the Orange Storm has never beaten the White Devil. Both of them have a lot in common, but Nanoha is just better at magic."

"So, the 'White Devil' is his rival of sorts?" asked Kakashi, thinking that sounded like a rivalry.

"I suppose you could say that, sort of, maybe," said Fate, sounding unsure of that herself. Skeptical at the very least.

"Excuse me, peasants," said a young woman, as she entered the booths. "Miss Notch, attend me."

"Right away, Mistress," said an animated rag-doll. Sort of.

Fate bowed low towards the newcomer but her eyes never looked away. "Princess. These are the ninja countrymen of my colleague, Naruto. Honored guests, the Princess of Najirea, Kodako Naga."

The young girl in the tight black leather with white skull appliques posed. "Ah, good. I will be generous to you peasants and let you look upon mine magnifence without charging you for the pleasure!"

"Err, right," said Kakashi. "Thank you."

The girl unfurled a small fan to cover her face and she laughed.

Kakashi staggered back. Yes, he was a blooded ninja. An assassin. Someone who'd faced death numerous times. Yet this mere laugh had put him on edge. He glanced to the side and noticed the two genin had retreated and were looking spooked. Maito Gai, on the other hand, looked more serious than usual.

Kurenai merely nodded, noting the whip at the girl's hip, the stilleto heels, tight leather, little skulls, and was grateful Anko wasn't present. They might compare notes or something and that would be considered a Crime Against Nature waiting to happen. On the other hand, she could certainly see why Naruto had still not been told of the Princess being present. If this girl DID have some personal involvement with Naruto, she was certainly acting insane enough to make associating with her an unpleasant experience.

"Is my darling Naruto-kun ready for attaining a higher rank as a mage?" asked Kodako.

"He's not your 'darling' or anything," said Fate.

"He was a trifle reluctant when I sought to reward him for my rescue," admitted Kodako.

"You drugged him, chained him to a bed, and were about to BRAND him as your property," corrected Fate. "Not to mention whatever else you had in mind. He fled."

"Details, details," said Kodako. "Though I expect such activities are beyond your young mind to be able to understand."

"He's engaged to be married you know," put in Kurenai, deciding that bringing up ages and appropriate activities wasn't going to be productive. Though now she was quite sympathetic with Naruto's desire to remain as distant as possible from this girl.

"Once I have introduced him to the Thousand and One Pleasures and Pains," said Kodako, her hand caressing her whip. "He'll drop this other girl."

"N-no, N-Naruto-kun isn't like that," protested Hinata.

"They're starting the fight," noted Kakashi, having a bit of sympathy for Naruto suddenly.

* * *

Tenten stared as the fight commenced. Naruto Uzumaki, whom she had noted was a little taller than she'd expected, had been surprising her. Kurenai Yuhi-sensei had mentioned on the way over that Naruto had gone through something where he had aged a year and then come back within an hour or so of leaving.

That he and the little girl were flying and throwing massive jutsu at each other was certainly indication that something outside her usual references was going on. Maybe she could get some of that training?

Naruto and the girl flew at each other at high speeds, struck, bounced away, repeated that twice more, then flew up in a high speed spiral.

They came together again, Naruto's hammer clashing once more against the girl's staff, then they were arcing away while building power up around their weapons.

Her eyes flicked to the crazy noblewoman fanning herself, and the life-size maid doll attendant. Naruto was supposedly engaged to Hinata? Except Hinata didn't seem too thrilled with it. Hmmm. An idea percolated up and she considered it. Yeah, maybe she ought to help out.

"[Divine Thunder]" attacked Naruto.

"{Divine Buster]" attacked Nanoha.

The two attacks met halfway. Naruto's attack exploded, and he barely avoided the remains of the girl's attack as it continued on.

"By the way," said Tenten softly as she stepped close to the Princess. "Stay away from my fiance."

Kodako's eyes widened slightly as she glanced towards Tenten, who merely smirked and nodded, then stepped away again.

Tenten schooled her expression to a calm confident look as she turned her attention back to the battle. This VIP box wasn't big enough that the Princess could get too far away, and there was no Konohagakure/Najirea treaty as far as she knew. If the Princess called her bluff, Tenten would have to fold as she didn't actually HAVE a fiance. Heck, she didn't have a boyfriend. She was a professional kunoichi and too young for a relationship, though she thought if Neji would relax a little once in awhile he might be fairly datable.

Honestly though, it was NOT a priority. Though maybe she could get something in return for helping to distract this Princess from trying to do something unspeakable to Naruto. Hinata, as she'd learned on the trip over, had just gotten some medical jutsu. Something like that would be handy.

* * *

Kodako had thought that the story about Naruto having a fiancee was just that - a story. Perhaps she had to adjust that belief.

The girl was some sort of warrior clearly. Quite fit. Attractive in a peasant sort of way. So. Though she hadn't reacted like the little black-haired wench had, who herself was entirely too meek for someone like Naruto.

Still, this hadn't been the first time someone had referred to Naruto as having an engagement to marry. Could it be that it was simply not a trick by these Mid-Childan administrators seeking to keep their monopoly on their magical device technology?

Of course, if the peasant WAS the one engaged to Naruto, then there were ways to deal with that obstacle.

* * *

Kakashi Hatake had rapidly come to the opinion that Naruto HAD held back during the bell test. Not that Kakashi was going to complain.

Naruto had things like that "Homing Bullet" and "Wide Area Search" - which made him useful in both types of Search operations. (Search and Rescue and Search and Destroy being higher rank missions than was normal to assign starting genin.) He had a couple of precise attacks, and a couple of attacks that were much broader in their area of effect. Plus ones like that "Lightning Whip" that seemed to be able to do more than one thing. Oh, and that restraint jutsu called "Ring Bind" - that was something he'd managed to get out of, but could have been quite handy nonetheless.

Clearly, he was going to have to go through some serious training with Sasuke and Sakura or they would be left behind by Naruto's progress fairly quickly. And a team that was reliant on one member was quickly crippled when that member was sidelined or otherwise not available.

The girl facing him though. SHE was even better.

"So, this 'Nanoha' is one of Naruto's new friends?" asked Kakashi, noting that Hinata suddenly jerked her gaze away from the display to pay attention to this.

"Nanoha, myself, Hayate, and Naruto - yes we're all friends," said Fate with a nod. "Though Naruto needs to have Mjolnir upgraded if he wants to keep up with us. He doesn't have the Belkan Cartridge System yet. Right, Bardiche?"

"[Yes sir.]"

"Do they all talk and put little messages up like that?" asked Kakashi.

"The Mage Devices like Bardiche and Mjolnir, or Nanoha's Raising Heart, all do," said Fate, looking up at the much taller man and wondering what was up with that mask. "I see Hinata has a simple Device, that isn't able to speak or cast spells."

"Th-this?" asked Hinata, touching the complicated-looking bracelet.

"That's a bow-type, isn't it?" asked Fate.

"Y-yes," said Hinata, not sure HOW friendly Naruto had been with this girl. Fate was so pretty after all, and Hinata knew she wasn't. Though hadn't Naruto called her 'pretty'? "N-Naruto said that it would fire chakra arrows."

Kakashi's eye widened. A Hyuga. Armed with a bow that could fire their chakra at any target they could see. Clearly Naruto was serious about wanting his fiancee to be able to survive. "You ought to keep that secret as long as possible."

"Actually, I'd think it best to practice it as much as possible," said Fate, glancing towards the holographic display. "That's it. It's over."

Everyone's eyes went back to the display.

* * *

Naruto was breathing hard, low on chakra, and barely able to keep himself in the air. His clothing had rips and rents in it, and there were scratches on his forehead protector. Blood was dribbling down one side of his face.

Nanoha was breathing hard and one of her ribbons was missing.

Naruto whipped Mjolnir around, taking a defensive stance.

_K-chunk, k-chunk, k-chunk,_ went Nanoha's staff.

"STARLIGHT BREAKER!" called out Nanoha.

* * *

"NARUTO!" cried out Hinata, seeing the smoking figure heading falling towards the ground.

"I have to wonder what they were thinking, having those two go at it for a test," said Fate.

"Uhm," said Tenten. "He's falling from really far up."

"Oh, don't worry," said Fate. "They'll grab him with a teleport now that he's unconscious."

"Hmm," hmmmed Kodako, looking between the short girl who was quite distraught and the much calmer fiancee.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:** Kodako Naga is intended to be about 33% Naga from "Slayers", 33% Kodachi Kuno from "Ranma 1/2", with a touch of B-ko from "Project A-Ko" and various other sources.

She's a golem specialist, with each member of the Royal Family Of Najirea having a specialty in their magic. Her Aunt Yzma, for example, is a Potions specialist.


	4. Chapter 4:Miss Taken Identities

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

Chapter 4: Princess of Najirea

* * *

"KRONK!"

"Oh, sorry Yzma. I was just checking with my minions."

Yzma frowned at that little reminder that her butler/cook/minion had a summoning contract and therefore minions of his own. Even if they were squirrels, rats, gophers, and similar critters. "I need to know what is going on as far as my plans."

"Well, they've been out causing chaos and general mischief," said Kronk. "They've trashed Naruto's apartment, but, uhm, how do I put this?"

"Yes?" asked Yzma.

"It was already pretty trashed before they got there," said Kronk. "There were casualties too. I lost two minions to a clever trap he had laid using expired milk."

"Hmmm, he may be more clever than I gave him credit for," said Yzma. "As unlikely as that seems."

"Well, it IS a ninja village," said Kronk.

"Any more casualties to our cause?" asked Yzma, not really caring about the lives of squirrels except as an indication of how dangerous this place was.

"Well, none since the last report, though several of them seem kind of traumatized by that girl with the pink hair," said Kronk.

Yzma was about to say something about Kronk knowing words like 'traumatized' but held off for now.

"Oh, and none of them will go near that Akamichi compound," said Kronk, remembering a detail. "We lost a few there. And the forest near the Nara compound is heavily trapped. Most of which my little allies can avoid, but some are pretty nasty."

Yzma sat back in her temporary throne, tapping her nails against one armrest as she thought. "Any sign of the Orange Storm?"

"I kinda preferred the 'Mandarin Platoon' myself," said Kronk.

"I think you're the only one," said Yzma drily.

"And no, one of my allies saw him vanish, but his girlfriend is still in the hospital," said Kronk. "Squee has been able to infiltrate and has sabotaged her medication a couple of times now."

"Excellent," hissed Yzma, who regarded herself as a Master Villain and intended to play that role to the hilt. "Tell him to go wild."

Kronk saluted. Squee would enjoy that.

* * *

Squee waited until everyone was asleep and the nurse was away, then made his way to the clipboard next to the girl's bed. Exchanging one sheet of paper for another caused some momentary rustling and he stopped in fright, but there was no followup movement and he retreated as quickly and quietly as possible as soon as the task was done.

Yes, the evil pink-haired one would suffer. He might be the runt of the pack, but he had two major advantages over most of his brethren. One, he had color vision. Two, he could read.

Squee's eyes glinted malevolently as he snuck out the window and dashed towards the safety of a tree.

* * *

"He's not able to move?" asked Kurenai of the nurse.

"No, he's completely immobilized right now," said the nurse.

"N-Naruto-kun," said Hinata, sounding quite concerned.

Naruto's eyes flicked towards Hinata, but inside the tube and with a respirator in place, he didn't say anything that could be heard from those present.

"I see, and he'll be in there for how long?" asked Kurenai.

"Four hours," said the nurse.

"Tenten, Hinata, you'll be on guard duty," said Kurenai.

"I really don't think that's necessary," protested the nurse.

"Nothing against your hospital," said Kurenai. "This is part of my responsibility as the leader of this mission."

"Are we guarding him from outside threats or keeping him from leaving?" asked Tenten.

"Both," said Kurenai. "He can hear us?"

"Yes," said the nurse. "Though he can't respond until his jaw is healed."

"Then this is as good a time as any," said Kurenai. "Naruto. We are here at the bequest of the Princess of Najirea, who is apparently here."

Lots of bubbles suddenly came from Naruto's respirator and he went from relaxed floating to where his back was pressing against the back of the tube and he was looking around for potential threats.

"Heartrate and respiration rates up. Administering sedative," said a device connected to the healing tube.

"Okay," said Kurenai as Naruto's panic went away and he just sort of drifted off to sleep. "Any chance we can get one of these to take with us? There are times that function would be very handy."

"Sorry," said the nurse.

Kurenai nodded, having expected that. "Now, you two. Be on the lookout. This Princess Kodako is a VIP and guest of our own host. That does not mean she gets to take Naruto home as a souvenir."

Tenten and Hinata nodded to show they understood.

* * *

"Your analysis, Miss Notch?" asked the Princess in their assigned Chambers.

"There are several benefits to formalized relations with Mid-Childa and the Time/Space Administration Bureau," said Miss Notch. "Not only will we have access to at least some of their magitek, but trade will benefit. Your brother the Emperor was quite clear that he wishes nothing to impede this deal."

"I was speaking of my Naruto's situation," said the Princess Kodako.

"Oh," said Miss Notch, her head cocking to the side as she considered that particular issue. "For a thirteen year old boy who has only been practicing magic for about a year, he shows promise despite being of the male gender. From what I've seen of the two males of his party, their own reserves register quite high as well. It may be something genetic within the humans of their world that allows this when the female gender is considerably more magically adept within Mid-Childa itself."

"While fascinating, you have still avoided the question I wished answered," said Kodako impatiently. "The two girls that accompanied Naruto."

"I do not have much in the way of information," said the lifesize maid doll. "I can only speculate there."

"Do so," commanded Kodako, wondering at the maid's hesitance to address this issue.

"Very well," said the maid. "If Naruto's world does not normally feature polygamous relations, then it would be my guess that the girl with all the knives is a bodyguard to the one with the odd eyes. Every time that Naruto was struck during the test, the shorter of the two girls flinched. Whenever Naruto managed to score a direct hit on Nanoha, her body language indicated some pride. The bun-haired girl, on the other hand, didn't react much to whom was being hit but was clearly intrigued by the higher-powered attacks and defensive moves."

"So, they are trying to trick me," said Kodako, her voice indicating some admiration and irritation.

"Well, they ARE ninja," pointed out Miss Notch. "IF, however, they do have polygamous relations in that world - it may be that the shorter girl is one with affection for him, while the bun-haired girl has an arranged marriage instead. That would account for the remark and the differing attitudes."

"What are the odds of a polygamous society within their world?" asked Kodako, going thoughtful for a moment.

"Possible, though I deem it unlikely," said Miss Notch. "As they have repeatedly used the terms 'ninja' and 'shinobi' - they are most likely similar to other groups described by those terms. Ninja are 'those born in darkness, who act in darkness, and ultimately to die in darkness' - not exactly a lifestyle which lends itself well to stable family relationships."

"Yes, but a polygamous relationship would allow for the increased chance of a next generation," said Kodako. "If I can merely take him and break him to the role of my consort, I could use the relationship with his 'fiancee' as another tool in breaking him in. Then she would remain whole and hale as a hostage to his performance."

"Your brother, should he learn of such a thing, would be most displeased," warned Miss Notch.

"My brother, should he learn of such a thing, would most likely clap me in irons, put me in a dark little cell somewhere, and forget about me while he seeks to smooth over relations with Mid-Childa and Naruto's world," said Kodako. "What's life without a little danger?"

"Safe," replied Miss Notch.

"See? How boring would that be?" said Kodako.

* * *

"Okay, she's prepped."

"Let's see. Paperwork's filled out but her handwriting's pretty atrocious. Yeah, this is the waiver. Awfully young, but she's a genin - so it's legal."

"She's got to be all of twelve. Is it really all right to be doing this?"

"I suppose she must have needed the money, and it may actually come in handy in her line of work."

"If it works."

"Well, that is always the thing isn't it?"

* * *

Tenten glanced to the side, her back to the tube with Naruto inside. Hinata was fidgeting again.

"So," tried Tenten. "You and Naruto?"

"Eh?" asked Hinata.

"You're engaged to Naruto?" asked Tenten. "That must be rough."

"W-w-well, that is, I mean," fidgeted Hinata.

"Eh? You could probably just ask him to let you go if you hate it that much," said Tenten.

"EH?" squeaked Hinata.

"He was always dead last in everything back when I was at the Academy," said Tenten. "The instructors always brought him up when it came to giving a bad example. Then there were the stupid pranks he'd pull, like some baby that'd never grow up."

"Th-that isn't q-quite it," protested Hinata.

"Oh?" asked Tenten.

Hinata touched the bracelet on one wrist. "N-Naruto-kun is... very special to me."

"Oh? 'special'?" asked Tenten.

"Y-yes," said Hinata, not going any further.

"You saw that Princess, right?" asked Tenten, switching subjects. "You saw her bodyguard? What exactly WAS that?"

"She had a chakra network," said Hinata, a little more confident with a technical subject. "I used my Byakugan briefly in the booth. She's made of cloth and metal and gears and things, but she's also alive somehow. I couldn't examine further without being obvious."

Tenten's estimation of Hinata went up a little at that. Covertly gathering information on potential enemies right under their noses? Especially while one's fiance was having the heck beaten out of him. Definitely not useless. Hmmm. "I'm a little familiar with the Byakugan because your cousin Neji is on my team. Did you get any information about anything else?"

Hinata nodded. "I've been practicing at turning my Byakugan on and off for brief periods while no one's looking. The use of chakra here is different from typical jutsu use, but there seem to be things in common as well. Mostly it goes through those devices they have with them, which also have chakra networks of a sort."

"I see," said Tenten, turning her gaze to the bracelet. "That's a gift from Naruto?"

"Y-yes," said Hinata, touching a part of the bracelet. Abruptly the bracelet unfolded and extended, becoming a hankyu-style shortbow of the same white material as the bracelet.

"No arrows?" asked Tenten.

"Naruto said it would fire chakra arrows," said Hinata. "I haven't tried it out."

"Hmmmm," hmmmed Tenten, one hand straying towards the pouch that held her own recent purchases. Yes, this trip was proving QUITE educational.

One of Naruto's eyes cracked open a bit. Sure, he was heavily sedated and drowsy. Didn't mean he couldn't HEAR most of that.

"B-by the way," stammered Hinata. "Thank you for earlier."

"Eh?" asked Tenten.

"You telling them that you were Naruto's fiancee distracted them from me, which helped me use my Byakugan without them noticing," explained Hinata.

"Hey," admitted Tenten, "no problem. That gal and her doll rubbed me the wrong way, and we're all ninja of the Leaf."

"Right!" said Hinata, nodding and smiling.

* * *

Yzma shook her head as she looked over the map. "Squirrels."

Well, technically it was just mainly squirrels. There were also the rats, the chipmunks, the occasional weasel. Kronk's 'squirrel summon' wasn't entirely squirrels, merely involved mostly squirrels.

It was just that what she had initially thought of as a completely useless ability of her manservant was becoming a major asset. Everyone saw the squirrels and hardly anyone reacted to them.

Okay, the Inuzuka and the Aburame and the Akimichi compounds were apparently deadly to the little rodents. Other than that though, they were mostly able to navigate through this overlarge village without much difficulty.

Ah, here she was. Naruto's girlfriend.

"Are you one of the doctors here? I don't remember you," said one of the nurses who'd brought the girl in.

"Oh, don't worry about that," said Yzma, wearing surgical gear that left only her eyes showing - and she had glasses on to help disguise her there. "I'm with that hidden organization that doesn't even exist. You know the one."

The nurse paled. "I... I see. You're with them."

"Exactly," said Yzma. It was a ninja village. Of course it would have such an organisation, or at least a lot of people would believe it did. "Now, I'm going to get to work on this shinobi. You don't want to be present for this, do you?"

The nurse practically fled the room.

Yzma smiled as she locked the door, and turned to regard the unconscious pink-haired brat. She'd asked around and had uncovered that while many people talked about the boy being engaged to a 'Hyuga' girl - there had been a few who'd talked about THIS girl as his long-time crush.

A genius such as herself could see through the deception.

Not that she hadn't stalked and found the severely underage 'Hyuga' girl with the odd eyes. She'd deal with THAT one later. Now to deal with the most likely candidate.

Opening her "doctor's bag", Yzma looked over the choices before deciding how to proceed.

* * *

Yzma knew that this was Naruto's girlfriend. That the brat who'd ruined her chance of becoming the Empress and ruling all Najirea would take any attack on HIMSELF without thinking much about it at all. There were indications of other things that she discounted. There was no way in Zandru's Nine Hells that she would accept that the boy who had fouled HER plans was a blithering incompetent who thought painting snot under a statue's nose was high art or great comedy. The whole bit about actually being a demon she discounted as well, and for reasons less involving her own pride. The Mid-Childans were many things but incompetent was not one of them. If Naruto Uzumaki was actually a demon, they'd found a way to either suppress or control his evil. She'd prepared an Inner Nature potion to use just in case, that would cause the Inner Nature and Outer Nature to switch temporarily. Experimental to be sure, but she was pretty confident it would work. Last resort though, a powerful demon set loose would likely not be friendly to her either.

"Amazing though that his girlfriend is THIS flat-chested," noted Yzma as she stripped the drugged girl bare. A little extra sleeping draught when she was done and the girl was basically as limp as an empty pair of socks. "Now where to start?" Oh yes, Naruto Uzumaki would no doubt take any attack on HIMSELF without much difficulty. His obviously weak, underfed, not-very-bright girlfriend? Oh yes, THAT would get him!

The door swung open, causing Yzma to nearly have a heart attack.

"I got her, Yzma, this is the 'Hyuga heir', that everyone says... who's that?" asked Kronk.

"Kronk, you idiot, you - you got her? That IS her, well well well," said Yzma. "How interesting?"

"Why is she naked?" asked Kronk, trying not to look.

"Never mind that, Kronk, just stand guard and don't let anyone in," said Yzma, getting a funnel out of her bag and choosing a potion. "I'll be done with these two shortly. Oh dear. The label fell off."

"Well, I DID tell you that you should spring extra for the more expensive labels, this stuff doesn't stick to glass very well," pointed out Kronk.

"Oh, bother," said Yzma. "Well, good enough. Let's see what THIS one does."

*POOF!*

"A llama? AGAIN! I'm SICK of llamas," declared Yzma.

"Well, this one's pink so that's different at least," pointed out Kronk.

"Kronk. Outside. Guard. Now." Yzma pointed helpfully at the sole door to the room.

"Right, right," said Kronk. "Don't get in a mood again. Everything seems to go South when you do."

"I. Am. NOT. In. A. Mood," said Yzma very precisely.

"Oh boy," said Kronk, taking the time to go outside and close the door carefully behind him.

Looking over the slumbering pink llama named Sakura, Yzma was momentarily tempted to keep her like that. Maybe an amnesia potion. Then breed her and see if that lovely pink color bred true. Might sell well enough to recoup her finances somewhat and she WAS running short of cash. "No, let's try this one."

*POOF!*

"A panther? Now THAT is ridiculous, whoever heard of a Pink Panther? Let's see. Maybe a little of this to the Hyuga girl?"

*POOF!*

"Oh, now THAT works out considerably better, a helpless little black kitten. Yes, now back to the girlfriend," said Yzma.

* * *

Hanabi Hyuga knew SOMETHING was wrong. She hadn't thought anything in particular about all the squirrels gathering nearby. They were just rodents after all, even if they were CUTE rodents. When one had approached her, all big eyed and furry and cute, she'd first made sure there were no witnesses before trying to coax the squirrel a little closer.

Then the damn things had MOBBED her, tied her up, stuffed a smelly rag in her face, and carried her off!

What, were they saying she was some kind of nut to be gathered up and stuffed in a tree or something?

Now she was slowly coming to, but careful not to betray her wakefulness. There was some liquid that went down her throat, that had been what caused her to awake, and now she was feeling most peculiar. Her tail twitched in annoyance as she tried... to... figure out. Wait one moment. Tail?

Slowly an eye opened, revealing a black-and-white vision, there was some weird doctor over there, going through a medical bag and working on a... giant chicken?

Making each move as slow and deliberate as possible, Hanabi craned around to look at herself. Aided by the fact that there was a set of medical instruments on a tray and the stand holding it all up was reflective.

A black-looking cat with familiar looking eyes blinked back at her, with exactly the same blinking as she was doing. Oh that.

"MEOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW?" asked Hanabi, going straight into a panic and running. Not caring where she was going as long as it was away.

* * *

"Can't Kronk do ANYTHING right?" asked Yzma as she saw the door swinging shut behind the vanished kitty. "Well, that's the improved version of the transformation potion. She won't be able to talk. Now for you, my dear. Just on the off chance she can find a way to communicate, I can't spend time doing the sort of experimentation I'd really like to. Certainly leaving you as a giant pink chicken would have its possibilities, but let's try this."

* * *

"MEOW! MEOW MEEEEEEEEEEEEEOW!" said the kitten, running into the compound. "MEW MEOW MEORRRRR!"

Hiashi Hyuga looked at the odd kitten, carefully reached down, then picked it up by the scruff of the neck. Walking to the compound gate, Hiashi flicked his arm, causing the now-yowling cat to slam into the wall across the street and slowly slide down it.

He managed to get four steps in before hearing that cat yowl at him again, limping back across the street towards him.

"I don't know what you think to accomplish, but pets are not allowed here," said Hiashi to the creature.

The cat looked up at him giving more plaintive yowls and hisses.

"BEGONE!" thundered Hiashi, hoping the creature would read the tone of his voice and posture and go back to whatever alley was its home. He didn't raise his voice, simply putting enough force in his words that it might as well have been. That and a little Killing Intent should do the job. "GET OUT OF HERE! YOU HAVE NO PLACE HERE AND NEVER WILL!"

The cat's eyes were very large and it began shaking.

Hiashi took in the stance and figured that once more should rid him of the beast. He stomped a foot down. "Get out of here before I order the guards to kill you."

The cat fled, making the oddest noise. Almost as if it were crying.

Hiashi shook his head at the bizarre illusion. Then checked to make sure he wasn't under a genjutsu. Well, whatever. It was gone now.

* * *

Hanabi looked back at her home. Former home.

Feeling more alone, cut loose, abandoned, and just generally miserable than she'd ever felt in her life, she began trudging off (at least as much as a black kitten could trudge) to wallow in some self-pity. She really felt she deserved the right to do so at the moment.

"ch-ch-chik," said something.

Hanabi's head shot up to behold exactly what she had feared. Squirrels. Who would no doubt take her back to that weird medical ninja with the round glasses. All she'd been able to see was the rough height and the glasses - everything else had been covered up with the surgical gown/hat/gloves/mask combination. She knew one thing though, she did NOT want to go back and have that medic-nin finish whatever he'd been planning to do to her! No way!

Hanabi turned and sprinted away, veering away from the false safety of her former home when she'd realized that had been her first instinctual reaction.

* * *

Yzma watched, not sure how this would work out. The salesman over at the Evil Supplies And Sundries Store (she'd been rather surprised to find such a place, even more so when she found out you could mail order from them) had heard her out and when told about Kodako's golems had made a deal right there and then. In exchange for the details of such manufacture, he'd provide a potion that would do something very similar.

Yzma already had such details, it was just that she found the whole thing very tedious and time-consuming and had little talent in that regard anyway. It required skills she didn't have and didn't care to develop. She'd gotten ahold of one of Kodako's golems that she'd disabled in the process of going back after some hidden supplies, turning it over to the salesman had been payment on her end of the deal.

She'd just gotten the potion and was anxious to see if it worked as advertised. If it did, then she was going to have to do more business with that particular company.

The fluid went down the funnel and into the drugged girl's mouth, and a few strokes of her throat inticed her to swallow it. Choking on it would have been momentarily amusing, but this was all about VENGEANCE. Odd how the salesman's eyes had lit up on hearing that. Vengeance quests must rake in the money. Well, Yzma could see how that could be the case.

Yzma stepped back with the funnel as the girl's body suddenly spasmed and her mouth opened wide. The girl's eyes stared at the ceiling and a wind began to flutter through the room. All of which was good in Yzma's eyes as a certain dramatic effect really did add to the atmosphere.

The changes began to spread, first from the chest as it took a darker hue, which visibly spread along the girl's arteries. When the whole body had turned that hue, it began fading to something approaching her previous coloration but then other changes were occurring.

The girl aged. Going from a twelve-year-old undeveloped form, to perhaps seventeen or eighteen. Taller, more developed, and quite obviously past pubescence. Her skin was smooth, slightly shiny, and had seams appearing. The joints however were made of brass or something that looked like brass, emphasizing the artificial nature of the golem.

When the changes finally ran their course, the body seemed to go limp again and the eyes shut with a click. Turning the body over, Yzma noted the wind-up mechanism and the little lever next to it. Clicking that rewarded her with the sound of the gears and springs within the golem releasing their stored up energy.

Perfect.

She'd just throw this doll somewhere and torment that brat with the idea of his girlfriend being on a rubbage heap somewhere, then blackmail him with the location.

* * *

Kronk shook his head at the now-crated puppet. There were times this whole 'minion to the evil witch' thing didn't sit well with him. Oh well, he'd signed the contract knowing there would be chores like this.

"Now, let's see," mused Kronk aloud as he hauled the crate on his cart. "Yzma said to put it out of the way but somewhere safe. Somewhere she can get to it later. Maybe these abandoned apartments? One of them should do."

Finding that one of the apartments on the floor showed signs of recent use, he chose the one next door which had been abandoned for quite some time.

"Huh, squirrels have been through here recently," said Kronk, again to himself. "Have to remember to ask them about that after they get back from their 'sabotage the training grounds' and the 'find that cat' mission."

* * *

_Three days later:_  
"Okay, this is bizarre," said Naruto. "Why is there a Sakura doll in my apartment?"

"I was about to ask that myself," said Tenten, moving aside so Fate and Hinata could enter.

"You know, that actually looks like one of Princess Kodako's soldier golems," pointed out Fate.

"Oh hell," said Naruto, backing away.

"Uhm, it's faint, but it has a chakra network," observed Hinata, her Byakugan going.

"Ugh," said Naruto. "I suppose I have to. Dang."

"Have to what?" asked Hinata, still examining the doll.

"Wind her up," said Naruto. "The golems that Princess Kodako makes are wind-up. Except Miss Notch who has a steam generator. You charge them with chakra and they store that and the energy from winding, and that keeps them alive. I just don't know why she'd build a Sakura version."

"Is... this possible that it IS Sakura-san?" asked Hinata, getting a really bad feeling.

"No way," said Naruto. "Why?"

"Because it has a rivet where Sakura-san has a mole, and the chakra patterns match," said Hinata.

"Oh, heck," said Naruto, hurrying to the back of the golem and winding it up.

"To turn a person INTO a golem," mused Fate. "The only one I can think of who could possibly do something like that would be Yzma. Her metamorphosis potions were capable of some impressive things."

"Except she's dead," said Naruto.

"Maybe she had an understudy or apprentice or something," said Fate, "IF that's your friend."

"Someone out to avenge Yzma's death?" asked Naruto, continuing to wind up the naked clockwork doll. "I don't see it. Let's not mention it to Sakura though. That'd make it MY fault and I don't really see how-"

(_CLANG!_)

Sakura withdrew her fist from Naruto's face, having backhanded him through a wall. "This is all YOUR fault, Naruto!"

(_CLIK!_)

Hinata watched as the gears wound down and Sakura slumped to unconsciousness. THEN she removed her finger from the release switch.

"Well, I guess we're going to have to go back to Mid-Childa," said Fate into the silence that followed that.

* * *

"Okay," said Kakashi-sensei. "Sakura has run into some difficulties, so we have a substitute for Sakura for the team for the next few days."

Sasuke looked on curiously towards their "substitute Sakura" team member, who seemed to be familiar with Naruto to some extent.

"Miyuki Takamichi," said the young woman, inclining her head.

"You know each other?" asked Kakashi.

"This is the first time we've met," said Miyuki, putting her glasses away and snapping the case closed. "I've heard about him."

"She's a ninja from her own world, Nanoha's sister," provided Naruto.

"Nanoha was that girl who beat you to the point you were floating around in a tube, right?" asked Kakashi.

"Yeah," admitted Naruto, looking a lot less happy at that reminder.

"I'm not a mage though," said Miyuki. "I'm told I don't have enough, you call it 'chakra' here I think, to use one of those devices like she does."

Sasuke frowned as he added more questions to his 'to ask later' list.

"Not much chakra?" asked Kakashi.

"All my techniques use chi," said Miyuki. "I specialize in a twin kodachi style form of swordsmanship, but I'm also proficient with katana and archery. I'm hoping that some of your 'chakra building' exercises will benefit me though I'm afraid I'll never reach Nanoha's level."

Kakashi scratched his head. "In any case we have a mission... Naruto, where'd you get that cat from?"

"Oh, I rescued it from some bullies," said Naruto, scratching the cat behind one ear. "For some reason it doesn't seem to dislike me like most of them."

"Nyow wow," said the cat.

"Is it a ninja cat?" asked Miyuki. "I saw some ninja dogs around earlier."

"Hey, that's an idea," said Naruto. "I can train him-"

"NYOW!" said the cat, glaring up at him.

"uhm. HER. I can train HER to go on ninja missions," said Naruto.

Kakashi looked at the cat and frowned at the unusual eyes, but decided to let it go for now. "Today's mission is a D Rank Mission. There's this cat named Tora."

"Nyow raow?"

"Sure, you can come, Kurochan! Then you'll have a D-rank mission."

"The cat understands you?" asked Kakashi.

"Sure, Kurochan's a really really smart kitty!"

"Nyow rowr," said Hanabi, deciding that 'Kurochan' wasn't all that bad until she found a way to change back, as long as...ooooooooh yeah scratch right there."

Naruto hadn't particularly liked cats, nor had cats liked him, but this one seemed to slump almost bonelessly in his hands as he scritched her behind the ears.

* * *

Sleeping outside had been a new experience. Eating out of garbage cans, also a new experience. Dodging ambushes from squirrels - ANOTHER new experience. There were a lot of new experiences she could do without, quite frankly.

Hanabi Hyuga had then run away from squirrels, gotten cornered by some little kids who'd argued about whether to use her for LIVE TARGET KUNAI PRACTICE or taking her off and going with the idea of tormenting her with some tea party. Except that the whole thing had gone bad and then worse, and just when she was sure that this was it - she was about to die - HE came.

He rescued her, took her away from those kids, and cleaned the wounds off. He'd even bandaged her and given her a fishcake off of his ramen.

She'd never paid attention to ramen before, but that was SO good. Maybe it was just that she'd been starving at the time. The shop owner had found a little box that her savior had put some broth in.

When her savior had tried to leave, she had been a little anxious about that and had insisted she had to go with him.

Not that this was anything other than convenience. Of course, that was all there was to it. As the heir of the main branch of the Hyuga family, she most certainly was self-reliant and not afraid of squirrels, round-glasses-wearing medic-nin, or anything else. No, it was just about convenience.

When this boy had met with his genin team and missions had been discussed, Hanabi had further added a layer of plan. Stick with this guy and when she was turned back to normal, she'd be able to document that she'd already been involved in accomplishing ninja missions. She'd be ahead of the game instead of just missing out on class time. Win!

"Naruto? Your cat is snickering evilly."

"Oh. Must be a cat thing. C'mon, Kurochan, let's go find that kitty. I want to check on Sakura this afternoon."

* * *

Sakura woke up with the oddest sensation of looking at where her body was sitting on a table a few feet away. "AGHHHHHHHH!"

"That's quite enough of that," said a blonde girl, looking up from where she was raising the table on a winch. "No screaming. This is delicate work."

"B-b-but," began Sakura.

"Look, they explained what happened," said the girl. "Someone used some sort of magic to turn you into a clockwork golem. An enemy going out for revenge. Unfortunately he or she got you."

"This is Naruto's fault!" said Sakura, gritting her teeth.

"No, it's not," said the girl. "It's the fault of whoever done it. You're one of these 'ninja' right? Better get used to people swearing vengeance on you. As I understand it, it's an occupational hazard. My name's Winry Rockbell, by the way. I'm working on your upgrades and rehab."

"Just turn me back!" suggested Sakura.

"Okay," said Winry. "How?"

"How?" asked Sakura.

"How do we turn you back to normal?" asked Winry. "Look, I'm an expert at magimechanical systems. I build automail systems, which are artificial limbs for people who have lost limbs and can't handle the regenerative drugs for whatever reason. I've never run into this. I've seen self-willed golems before, but there are only two groups that do it. Najirea is one. The other is a bit more friendly, but still not exactly sharing with its technology. Turning you back to human? Love to. How do we do that?"

"So it isn't that you can't do it, but you don't know how," said Sakura. "So what are you talking about upgrades?"

Winry began going over Sakura's body. "Your joints aren't strong enough to support your body's strength, your split soul is manifesting as a seal-array that's unstable, and you cracked your knuckles when you hit Naruto."

"Oh," said Sakura.

"We've got a way we can possibly get you a NEW human body, cloning from some hairs and cell samples, but it'll take a year and we need your permission to proceed."

Sakura frowned, then tried to nod. On finding she couldn't, she made a face. "Go ahead. Do it. A year with a mechanical body."

"Yeah, since you're a ninja we have to reinforce this body a bit," said Winry. "The TSAB is picking up the tab on this, so at least it isn't going to cost you anything."

"Oh," said Sakura. "So this is like a ninja puppet?"

"I suppose. I've never seen a 'ninja puppet' but I think I have the idea."

"Can you add any hidden mechanisms, storage compartments, gadgets?" asked Sakura, thinking she might as well get some use out of it.

Winry looked up, and her grin gave an immediate answer.

* * *

Kurochan/Hanabi watched as the team settled into position, Naruto carefully setting her down.

"Stay there, Kurochan," said Naruto, taking a couple of steps away. "Mjolnir!"

[Yes Sir. Set Up.]

Kurochan blinked as Naruto was suddenly holding a hammer and his clothes had changed.

"Wide Area Search," commanded Naruto, whacking his hammer on the ground. Five spheres of crackling yellow energy formed and shot off in different directions.

"Nyow?" asked Hanabi.

"It's exactly what he said it is," explained Kakashi, looking down at the cat. "He sends those off to find something, in this case the cat 'Tora', and when one finds the target - he'll know about it."

"Nanoha can do it while doing other things, I take it that Naruto isn't quite as good at multitasking?" asked Miyuki Takamichi.

"Yes, that's probably it," agreed Kakashi.

"Mrow," said Hanabi.

"So is the cat some sort of magical mascot?" asked Miyuki. "I was wondering. Most magical girl series on TV have a mascot, but Nanoha doesn't have one. Unless you count Yuuno but he was just stuck as a ferret while he healed."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what she is," said Kakashi, giving a flash of Killing Intent and evil look towards the cat.

"Mew?" asked Hanabi.

"No, I don't think you're an innocent little kitty," said Kakashi. "A normal cat doesn't understand human language or have those eyes."

"Those are rather distinctive," admitted Miyuki.

"Mew?" asked a beginning-to-panic Hanabi.

"Just answer me one thing," said Kakashi, glancing at where Naruto was still concentrating on his search. "Are you an enemy?"

"Mew mew mew mew MEOW," denied Kurochan frantically, shaking her head and looking nearly panicked.

"That's good then," said Kakashi by way of reply. If this WAS a spy or enemy, he'd expect more competence or confidence. Instead of the cat's body language changing to 'please don't kill me' in a heartbeat. "That leaves what to do about this."

"So Naruto has a magical mascot who's a cute little kitten?" asked Miyuki. "Better not tell Nanoha, she'll be so jealous."

"Nanoha being the young lady who basically pounded Naruto to the point he collapsed from wounds and ended up in the hospital," qualified Kakashi.

"What exactly happened while I was off duty?" asked Sasuke.

"Naruto has a rank as a mage in addition to a rank as a ninja," explained Kakashi. "Apparently the test for mage advancement has some things in common with the upcoming chunin exam. Mainly that they both involve a certain degree of violence."

"Darn," said Sasuke, sounding regretful. "Wish I could have seen that."

"Got her!" announced Naruto. "Distance two point three four kilometers. Eight O'Clock from my position. She's near the hot springs. She sees my probe and is running. INTO the hot spring. Women's side."

"Keep watch," said Kakashi. "If the cat remains there, Miyuki will have to go after it."

* * *

"How does this work?" asked Kakashi, standing behind Miyuki who was sitting in front of the odd device.

"This is a communicator that allows us to contact Mid-Childa and vice versa," said Miyuki. "I'm contacting the lab working with Sakura-san."

The image of a blonde girl appeared. "Winry Rockbell. Rockbell Engineering."

"Hello, Winry," said Miyuki. "This is Team 7. We're checking up on Sakura Haruno."


	5. Chapter 5:Sakura two point oh

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

Chapter 5: Sakura 2.0

* * *

Tora lashed her tail. Stupid ninja, why were they bothering her. Didn't they know the horrors she had to flee?

"Rrrowwww," said a kitten as it hopped nearby. (You can come along quietly, or get hurt and then come along.)

"Hssssssssssss," responded Tora. (Little cat, you have no idea who you're messing with. Go away and you'll keep your fur in place.)

"Rowww? Hssssssssssssss!" responded the black kitten with the funny eyes. (Oh? Let's see about that!)

"Niaowwwwwwwwww!" responded Tora as the little black kitten launched herself.

"Rorwraaa!" said the leaping kitten. (Byakugan!)

Tora fought, using superior strength, mass, and ferocity.

Hanabi fought. Her Byakugan was active, and she still had the superior chakra and chakra control that she had had as a human.

"Rowr-raaarrowl!" (Eight Trigrams, Thirty-Two Claws!)

* * *

"Whoa! Look at Kurochan go!" exclaimed Naruto as the little black kitten unleashed a can of Whoop-Ass on the larger cat.

"Hmmm," hmmmed Kakashi. "That fighting style reminds me of something."

"Rowr!" said the proud kitten atop the twitching and beaten Tora as the brief flurry of claw and bite ended.

"Whoa! Kurochan, you're awesome!" said Naruto.

"Rowr!" said Kurochan, nodding. She really needed that.

"Your magical cat mascot knows taijutsu?" asked Sasuke.

"She's a magical mascot?" asked Naruto. "Oh heck. I know a seal for that!"

"Nyow?" asked Kurochan.

"Yeah, it's something I found in my research. It allows magical mascots to speak human language," said Naruto.

"Rowr?" asked Kurochan.

Sasuke glanced down at the cat and then over at the twitching Tora. "Welcome to Team 7, Kurochan."

* * *

Sakura Haruno wandered through the simulated environment in the simulation of what her body would be like when it was finished.

"RARRR!" said a large two-headed wolf as it stuck its head up and sniffed at her.

Not taking a chance that it would recognize her as inedible, Sakura brought her right arm up. The armor plating along the back popped open slightly to reveal a tube underneath it. "Snipe Shot!"

A single burst of energy struck the wolf-beast, damaging it and shoving it back a little.

"Tougher than that, eh?" asked Sakura, grinning. "Try this! Razor Beam!"

The wolf-thing came out of the resulting dust cloud, charging her with twin wolf heads gaping open.

"Eep!" said Sakura. "Razor Edge!" Now with the tube manifesting a light-saber effect, Sakura waited until the beast was closer and finished it with a quick slash that cut it in half.

Sakura looked around, just in case any other enemies were drawn by the sound of combat.

After a few moments of this, she relaxed slightly. "Okay, what haven't I used?"

[You've got a Bind and that Round Shield.] supplied Inner Sakura.

"Not to mention our uprated strength," said Sakura, pumping a fist and causing her weapon to retract. "Okay, let's see if that quest giver over there has anything for us."

[Probably just another kill 10 giant spiders or something,] grumbled Inner Sakura. [Don't forget you've got to rest and let me recharge every so often.]

"Why, what are we at?" asked Sakura.

[52% after that last set of attacks,] responded Inner Sakura. [That blade attack really eats up the chakra.]

"So I'd be better off attacking from a distance if the fight's going to go on for awhile," said Sakura thoughtfully. "Either that or just rely on physical strength attacks and armor when I'm up close - then save the blade for finishing them off. We ought to hearthstone back to the inn, then leave 'Nations Of Ninjacraft' for awhile so we can check our real-world progress."

* * *

"Mew!" said Kurochan, preparing to dig into an opened can of sardines.

"Your welcome," said Naruto, flipping through his book.

"So what does this do?" asked Sasuke, looking over Naruto's shoulder.

"A guy I met, Yuuno Scrya, got me some scrolls and other stuff," said Naruto. "One of them was this sort of thing. It's just a copy, but it's got some useful stuff."

"Mew?" asked Kurochan, swallowing a sardine and looking up.

"Yeah, I think I should try this one," said Naruto, pointing at a page.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the seal technique Naruto was indicating.

* * *

"Okay," said Naruto. "I've gone over it twice and copied everything I could."

"Mrow," said Kurochan, who'd been quite aware of how long Naruto had spent last night going over the procedure. And making shadow clones to check the scroll he'd made the notes on, sent other clones off to notify members of his team, still more shadow clones to get groceries, yet MORE shadow clones (to the point where she'd been wondering what this genin's chakra reserves were like if he could play One Man Army Corps like that) to cook and straighten things up for his new houseguest.

Everything had gone fine until one of the shadow clones had returned with a catnip mouse. At which point she lost track of the next three hours and had only returned to her senses while watching Naruto shower.

"So why did you want US here for this?" asked Sasuke.

"Well, Kurochan's a member of Team 7, right?" asked Naruto. "So if she agrees and becomes my familiar, she can take a human form."

"Nyow nyow!" said Kurochan.

"She sounds anxious," noted Kakashi. "Still, she's only a member of Team 7 as an animal companion. That, at least, has a precedent."

"Well, she'll only be able to take familiar form briefly at first," said Naruto. "The ability to communicate in a human language is easier to maintain. She'll only lose that when she's hurt or if I'm out of range or if I'm injured - stuff like that."

"Nrow?" asked Kurochan, wondering what kind of range was required.

Naruto unfurled the scroll across the training ground, then knelt near one end. He bit his thumb and put it down in the circle on his end. "Now, Kurochan, you... oh."

Kurochan grinned from the other side of the scroll, having already done the same with the circle on her end.

Sasuke wondered if he could do something like that. Preferably involving large fire-breathing reptiles whom he could ride into combat, who would chew his brother up, later burping and proclaiming a taste like chicken.

"Summoning contracts are less involved," noted Kakashi.

"While we wait," said Miyuki. "What's today's mission?"

"Mah, I can't get one just yet," chided Kakashi gently. "Why don't you and Sasuke spar while Naruto practices his magic?"

_FWAM!_

The burst of blue flames from Naruto's circle seemed to be a signal as most of the writing from the scroll literally crawled off the paper in order to surround and cover the black cat.

"Before the gods of life and magic," began Naruto, "let this contract be formed."

"This isn't like the familiar contracts I've seen," noted Miyuki. "Though I've only seen one."

"The bond between us, I the Master who provides magic and the life necessities," said Naruto. "Thou the Servant - thy strength and support."

"Rowrrr, roowrrrl," said Kurochan, who didn't move but vocally disputed the whole Servant-Master thing.

"That's part of being a cat," said Sasuke, who hadn't gone sparring after all, preferring to watch this. "All cats consider themselves the master and their caregiver the servant. It's a cat thing."

"Our spirits together, our causes united," continued Naruto. "For the duration of -"

"Rowl rowr row!" interrupted Kurochan.

"-and stand together," continued Naruto, apparently deciding to ignore the various interruptions. "Contract Invoke!"

The symbols abruptly flew together, becoming a yellow crescent on Kurochan's head. At the same time a wind gusted from the center of the scroll outward.

Team 7 looked at where Kurochan had been sitting, and where now there was a girl.

The girl was young, pale of skin, dark of hair. Her eyes were rounder but the same color they had been.

"Why exactly am I wearing THIS?" asked Kurochan.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Miyuki.

"Well, it's frilly," pointed out Kurochan.

"Yes, it is, it's very becoming on you," said Miyuki.

"And then there's the tail and ears," complained Kurochan.

"Well, it's not that unexpected," said Miyuki. "Plenty of familiars back in Mid-Childa have those little reminders. As long as Naruto keeps paying the maintenance fee in magic energy you should remain human though. I think."

"You know a lot about this," commented Kakashi.

"Not really, I asked Aru about it once and she and Fate went on about it for quite some time," said Miyuki, shrugging. "Most of it went straight over my head."

"You, you're-" began Kakashi, his visible eye widening as he looked at Kurochan.

Kurochan snapped a single finger over her lips and shot a half-pleading half-threatening look towards Kakashi.

Kakashi frowned under his mask, aware that everyone was looking at him. "You've got hands now. That's got to be a step up."

"True," said Kurochan. "Now, I have some business to attend to. I'll see you later."

Naruto blinked as Kurochan walked off. "Why do I have the feeling that I've missed something important?"

"Don't worry about that," offered Sasuke. "That happens to you all the time."

"Oh, gee thanks," Naruto said sarcastically and glared at Sasuke.

"Don't mention it," said the smirking Sasuke.

* * *

Kurochan/Hanabi ignored the odd looks as she went directly to her father and reported.

Her father NEVER showed expressions. He was into that whole "stern stoic warrior" image. So he simply twitched a little as his youngest daughter, ears flicking and tail occasionally twitching, reported on the last few days.

Well, that and he used his Byakugan to determine this WAS his daughter and he was NOT dealing with some genjutsu nor was there any evidence of him getting some illicit substance in his morning miso.

Hiashi frowned ever so slightly as Hanabi finished her report, noting that she had likely rehearsed it several times.

"In other words," said Hiashi thoughtfully when Hanabi had finally fallen silent. "All we know of this enemy is that he or she is a glasses-wearing medical nin. A fairly muscular henchman or hired thug. That you are under the effects of some kinjutsu that turns you into a cat, but that you are currently staying with a boy whose own experimental jutsu gave you a semblance of your normal form. That you were specifically targetted as the heir of the Hyuga clan. Further, that this enemy employs squirrels and possibly other small animals."

"Yes sir," said Hanabi, inclining her head.

"You will return to the household," said Hiashi. "Now that we know of the difficulty."

"Actually, no," said Hanabi. "Sir."

Hiashi shifted slightly, turning his baleful gaze towards his youngest. "Explain."

"I have had a chance to think long on this," said Hanabi. "The enemy has infiltrated Konoha and is unlikely to be working alone. Surveillance of this compound is likely."

Hiashi quirked an eyebrow, mutely asking her to continue.

"In the meantime, I am relatively safe," said Hanabi. "Uzumaki is surprisingly powerful and has a variety of useful clan-techniques that I am free to study. While this occurs, I am being included in their ninja missions. Which gains me valuable experience for when I am either a ninja myself or must direct branch family members on clan business."

Hiashi's other eyebrow raised. "Uzumaki? You're staying with Hinata's fiancee?"

"WHAT?" said a startled Hanabi, her icy cool breaking for a moment.

"She is weak and useless, as you yourself have noted, quite loudly on occasion, and I bet on what was a sure thing that would have benefitted the Hyuga clan," said Hiashi as he mused over this development. "The 'sure thing' turned out not to be so certain. The engagement is not formally binding. Neither I nor Genma Fukayu of the Uchiha clan have any authority over Uzumaki. Still, it seems it may be useful after all."

Hanabi visibly bit back several things she obviously wanted to say. After a brief struggle, she returned to the outer calm and control that the Hyuga main branch maintained as carefully as their hair.

"Anything else?" prompted Hiashi.

"The jutsu that allows me to return to human form apparently has some limitations," said Hanabi finally. "Range is one. Until I can find a way to break the transformation jutsu, it would be best to keep close to Uzumaki."

"Very well, for now," allowed Hiashi. "I shall make appropriate excuses and arrangements. You will need to keep me informed of everything that happens."

Hanabi inclined her head again, accepting that.

"So, how does that explain the clothing?" asked Hiashi.

"Apparently a side effect of Uzumaki's 'fix'," said Hanabi. "He was apparently surprised by it himself."

* * *

Hanabi Hyuga straightened her odd clothes, but actually didn't have too many problems with it.

In fact, judging from the way Konohamaru and a few others took one look at her as she walked to her new partner's apartment - the look apparently worked for her.

Okay, the short skirt showed a bit of leg. But her black outfit normally showed nearly as much leg. The long gloves and form-fitting boots were of a tough material that was as comfortable and breathed as well as fine linen - and was just as flexible. Yet the material seemed to shed dirt and casual smudges. If she worked at it, the material could get dirty - but seemed at least resistant to such things.

Ninja mesh outfits, like Anko or any number of other kunoichi wore, showed more skin. The frills and ribbons were odd, but she quickly learned how to tuck a few shuriken and kunai and senbon into places where they weren't obvious.

She was a shinobi after all. Having a few extra tools around was generally a good thing.

The yellow crescent on her forehead was easily hidden. All she'd have to do was change her hairstyle a bit so that her forehead was more concealed.

She might be a shinobi, and cold and harsh and capable of being completely ruthless. She was also a girl, and tying a bit of ribbon around her tail was merely decorative flair that added to her disguise.

She felt the tingle about halfway there and realized the time was up and she was turning back into a cat. Temporary though, and that made it bearable.

"Damn, that was... I can still talk?" asked the cat in the alley. She'd thought that the talking ability would run out too, but if it didn't then... "Hmmmm. Possibilities with this." After all, a cat could go just about anywhere simply by adopting the 'I'm a cat, that's all the authority I need' attitude.

* * *

Things had altered but MOSTLY stayed inside the general guidelines of Naruto's original past.

Naruto was still the carrier of the Ninetails. Sasuke was still vengeance-obsessed. Sakura, Ino, and a large number of other girls were still Sasuke-obsessed fangirls.

Genma Fukayu was (as far as anyone of the village was concerned) an adult off a minor non-Sharingan-wielding branch of the Uchiha clan whose own village was far enough off the map that Itachi had never hunted it down. He stopped by Konoha (rather more frequently than Sasuke would like) every so often just to make life difficult for the Last Uchiha. One of the changes was a bet made with Hiashi Hyuga that engaged Hinata Hyuga to Naruto, despite neither of the individuals involved having any authority over Naruto to do so.

Naruto had a genjutsu he could cast that created a lantern that actually worked as if it were a real physical lantern. This blew quite a few minds as they tried to figure out how that could work. He also had his 'Centerfold Jutsu' and the now-infamous 'Clown Car Jutsu' where he managed at age eleven to pack a wagon with his class and Academy staff members in order to get everyone out to a countryside field trip for the price of a single fare.

Due to Naruto stealing a scroll of techniques (not the one he'd done in the original universe) from the Hokage Tower and then making copies of the ones he thought were interesting, he'd given out a few techniques to people he thought could use them and who might benefit from such.

Rock Lee - Dragon Palm technique. Which amplified his strength in a single blow which could send shockwaves through whatever he'd struck.  
Sakura Haruno - Domination Shibari Jutsu. Which she wasn't likely to use properly until after puberty.  
Sasuke Uchiha - Firebird Fist. A small bird-shaped fireball which could be launched and the flight of which was then directed by the caster.  
Hinata Hyuga - Pinpoint Defense. Requiring excellent chakra control, one could create a chakra shield on any particular point of the body - floating it a finger's width above the skin to absorb damage.  
Ino Yamanaka - Barajutsu. Which Ino DID use now. Throwing roses with pinpoint precision, temporarily enhancing them with chakra so that they essentially became senbon for the few seconds the technique was active.  
Choji Akimichi - Watermelon Seed Jutsu. Which apparently Choji hadn't even read.  
Kiba Inuzuka - Dog Pack Attack. A genjutsu which included a multi-clone attack which caused a pack of dogs to appear and attack the target.  
Ages had been set, then reset, so that they were normal again. Excepting Naruto who'd aged another year when he'd gone off-universe for a year.

Naruto had spent a little over a year outside his universe, returning to his own universe a few seconds after he'd left it. With a Mid-Childan Intelligent Device named Mjolnir and knowing how to cast a few spells with it.

Hanabi had been turned into a cat by an enemy that Naruto had made during that year. Sakura turned into a self-willed puppet much as Sasori would turn out to be. Most of the Rookie Nine had been injured pretty badly during the D-Ranks.

"Aw come on, gramps," said Naruto. "We've been double teaming the D-Ranks. Yeah, I know they're piling up because so many of the teams got sidelined - but they're mostly healed now. Let's have something a bit more awesome than cleaning rivers."

"Or working at Ninja Burger," deadpanned Sasuke.

"Well, there's good news," said the Hokage. "For one thing, Miyuki, I understand you're leaving tonight?"

"Yeah, not that I didn't get to see a lot of your village," said Miyuki Takamichi. "I just somehow never expected catching stray cats and pulling weeds to constitute the average ninja mission."

"Agreed," said Sasuke.

"So true," agreed Naruto.

"Which of course leaves us a problem in that a three-man team is normally required for missions," said the Hokage. "There is a C-Rank available. Guarding a bridge builder from bandits."

* * *

Tazuna of Wave, or Tazuna the Bridge Builder, or (many years ago in his youth) the Studious. He had many skills and talents that made him very good at his craft. He could judge distances very well, had an eye for materials, and had worked in and around Wave Country for years. He had also learned enough about masonry, welding, the legal systems of three countries, and geology to be able to build a bridge himself and make it last for a few generations of use.

He was also, more recently, Tazuna the Drunk. Drink served two purposes, dulling joints made arthritic by age and dulling memories that he'd rather put a little distance between himself and them.

Being ushered into the Hokage's presence in, to his not-so-humble-opinion, a portion of morning that should be labelled Way Too Damn Early, he wasn't nearly as drunk as he wanted to be and feeling fairly irritable about the whole thing. So he wasn't inclined to be kind as he was brought in to meet the ninja team that would be protecting him. Not that he could afford a top ranked ninja team, so he'd have to make do with whatever he got.

A dark-eyed kid, maybe twelve at most, brooding. A blond kid, a little older, who had a cat on his shoulder whose chin he was scratching. Judging from the rumbling purr, the cat was enjoying this. Then there was the girl... what the heck?

At first glance the girl talking to the two other kids was fairly normal. Except that as he adjusted his glasses to get a better look, he could see that those bracers and metal rings at her joints were actually PART of her. Nor was her skin precisely skin, it gleamed a bit too much and looked "off" now that he was examining it more closely.

Then the girl straightened one arm, braced it with the other arm, and a section of her forearm popped open to reveal a tube.

"Now now, Sakura, put that away, our client is here and there's nothing you can blow up anyway," said the tall guy who had to be the senior ninja-guy shepherding these kids.

"Hmph," said Tazuna, taking a quick swig from his bottle to clear his head a little bit more. "So these are my guards? A brooding sad sack, a stupid-looking boy and his scrawny cat, and a toy ninja?"

The members of Team 7 stared at him for a moment.

"So," said the cat, staring at him with the oddest lavender eyes, "I see a faded old drunk. If this is the client we're supposed to protect, what are we protecting him FROM, a hangover?"

"I think I saw a place that sells muzzles," countered Tazuna.

The cat glared at him for a moment before leaping off the boy's soldier. The problem was that when she landed on the floor, a human girl was standing there.

"I see there have been a few changes since I left," said the doll as the little girl continued to glare at their client.

"Kurochan's my familiar," said Naruto. "And I think Kakashi-sensei said something about 'bandits' after the client."

"Yes, that is what the mission entails," said Kakashi, putting one hand on the catgirl's shoulder. "If we could keep from shredding the client? It really isn't within the mission boundaries to protect the client from bandits by killing him beforehand."

"Hmph, buncha kids," said Tazuna dismissively. "What can YOU do against the sorts of bandits lured by the prospect of my bridge?"

For some reason, the kids seemed to find this amusing. So did the adults in the room. Tazuna considered that, then shrugged. "Well, whatever."

* * *

Hanabi knew her role. She was the heir. The talented heir of the strongest remaining clan in Konohagakure. As stoic and strong as her father, if you made allowances for their relative size and age.

It was obvious to her why someone would attack her. They were attacking the clan. Motives might vary but ranged from envy to vengeance against some slight or previous battle. That they had turned her into a cat was a bit unusual in that respect, and the first time she coughed up a hairball she had vowed all sorts of nasty and creative violence upon the persons responsible.

However, as a good clan heir should, she was taking the problems and using them to strengthen her position and development.

She was getting a head start on her ninja career, which was necessary for the whole heir-of-a-ninja-clan after all. Her father AND mother had both been jonin. This was a good team to start out with for such purposes. Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja, one of the most highly ranked jonin in the village - though he apparently had some personal habits that were less than exemplary. Sasuke Uchiha, rookie of the year, and while her family didn't see Eye to Eye with the Uchiha clan - nobody had ever really questioned their competency. Naruto Uzumaki, who'd been a class clown but was now a wizard who was literally capable of calling down the Wrath Of The Heavens upon his enemies. Miyuki Takamachi had been interesting. The girl had fallen into the habit of stroking the cat in her lap and talking about her own world - which sounded terribly exotic and strange.

As of yesterday, Miyuki was gone. Returning to Team 7 was this girl - Sakura Haruno. It had taken some time for Hanabi to place where she'd seen that pink hair before - but now knew this was another victim of the forces that had come after her. Except that Sakura had been turned into some sort of puppet.

Hanabi had put the clues together, and no doubt this Sakura was someone who'd been gotten as a kunoichi of approximately the same age to experiment with. That she was now apparently possessed of superstrength and the ability to produce some sort of weapon from a forearm was merely an additional source of payback when the person responsible for their transformation could be found.

She'd gone back to cat-form after briefly confronting their client. It was simply easier, she could have Naruto carry her instead of having to walk all the way to Wave for one thing.

As they approached the gates of the city though, she hissed as she realized that the weakling elder sister was over there hiding behind a streetpole. Which was NOT behavior that someone of the main family of the Hyuga clan should be indulging in.

Unfortunately, that brought Naruto's attention to the girl.

"Oh, hi Hinata!" said Naruto brightly, changing course to speak to her.

Hanabi snarled slightly at the squeak. Was Hinata a Hyuga or a mouse?

"H-h-hi, N-n-naruto," managed Hinata. "I, uhm, heard you had an extended mission..."

"Yeah, great isn't it?" asked Naruto. "How's that bow working out?"

The pretending-to-not-be-listening Team 7 and the not-hiding-that-she-was-listening Hanabi looked curious at that.

"It's great," said Hinata, her voice dropping further in volume as she tapped fingers together. "I'm working at using it with my Byakugan."

"Great!" said Naruto, clasping her shoulder with one hand. "I knew that would be good for you. Keep it up, and I'll tell you all about this mission when we get back!"

"Unn," managed the very red Hinata.

Naruto considered things briefly. What was a fiance supposed to do? Uhm. Oh! "Here's my apartment key. If you have time, can you water the plants? Just leave all the magic stuff alone though. I've got it warded."

Hanabi was about to say something when she realized her voice hadn't changed. With that and her eyes still being the same color, if she spoke Hinata would probably put it together and did she really want her sister to know about this?

* * *

It was difficult to remain quiet. Especially after so much time she had been stuck with meows and similar sounds.

However, she had to keep in mind that her father was working on the angle that their attacker had been silent and striking without notice. If they went public with everything, the culprits would likely scatter back to where they had come from. Leaving the Hyuga clan no more wise as to the identity of those squirrel-using scum.

So Hanabi/Kurochan kept quiet. Hanabi/Kurochan just watched and decided to sort out her feelings on the whole thing.

On the one hand, or paw at the moment, she was ready to sneer at this sister of hers for acting all timid and indecisive and weak. This was NOT the sort of behavior that a potential heir of a clan of warrior-ninja should indulge in.

On the other hand, she'd had the chance to see firsthand the skills and power that Naruto Uzumaki could bring to bear with his hijutsu. If Uzumaki were to be a clan that would eventually rebuild - it could be a quite powerful one someday. A strong alliance between the Hyuga and the Uzumaki would benefit the Hyuga in such a case.

On the other paw, or hand or whatever, with Hinata being about ready to faint from just TALKING with the boy she was engaged to - Hinata might end up past childbearing years by the time she'd actually marshalled up enough courage just to get past the kissing stage. If she could even go THAT far. Since she'd already acknowledged Naruto as being strong and potentially even stronger - didn't the thunder-wielder deserve a stronger partner?

Finally, the jonin Kakashi Hatake cleared his throat and Naruto broke off to rejoin his team - leaving Hinata clutching that apartment key so tightly her knuckles went white. Hanabi silently noted that, and kept an eye on her sister as they left the village.

She'd have to sort out how she felt about this. Her sister was weak, but still a member of the Hyuga clan and still her sister. If her sister ended up with a marriage-seal and part of the new Uzumaki clan - that neatly took her out of the 'potential heir' dispute without having to have a Caged Bird Seal and immediately confirmed Hanabi's own position as heir.

"So, Kakashi-sensei, what's the plan? Do you want me on high-guard?"

"High-guard?" asked Tazuna, the old drunk still smelling of strong drink and even less savory things.

"No, Naruto," answered Kakashi, "if you're flying overhead - you might spot potential attackers easier - but you also might give away our position to those same attackers. Best to remain on the ground for now."

"'flying'?" asked Tazuna, clearly skeptical.

"Yes, 'flying,'" said Hanabi/Kurochan, reminding the bridge-builder that there was a talking cat present. "You wanted a ninja team capable of defending you from bandits. You got a ninja team capable of defending you from bandits. You get what you pay for."

Tazuna mumbled something about how much he could afford and how there might be other dangers.

Tazuna, clearly, had not counted on Hanabi's excellent hearing. Judging from the look that both Sasuke Uchiha and Kakashi gave the bridge-builder, they'd both caught part of that as well. Hmmm.

"By the way, Sakura - isn't it?" asked Kurochan. "You returned with your abilities upgraded by some of Naruto's friends as I understand it. What exactly are you capable of?"

"Well, I need to be wound up every day by Sasuke," said the living doll. "Until Naruto's friends back at the Time/Space Bureau can rebuild my old body. Upgrading this just made it more likely I'd survive until then. My strength is greater and I've got a few built-in tricks like my arm-cannon to make contributions. The downsides are that I don't heal from injuries - I've got to be repaired. I need to be wound up. I also don't have as much of a sense of touch or smell. I have no sense of taste since I don't actually eat anything. That's taking a lot of getting used to."

Tazuna stared as Sakura held up one arm.

Hanabi, of course, had excellent vision even without turning on her Byakugan. At this range she could see the thin bronze edgings of the various seams that indicated the internal compartments and workings within the transformed girl.

Hanabi activated her Byakugan and looked deeper as they continued walking, another advantage of being in cat form and riding on someone's shoulder. Easier to do things like that. Hmmm. Metal parts, wood - though of a dense type she wasn't familiar with, crystals, chakra conduits, an elaborate double seal engraved into something that looked like bronze at first glance but clearly wasn't when you were using the Hyuga bloodline gift.

Little bits and bobs that didn't make much sense at all to her sight. Wait though, those hinges there and those sliders and that cable. Oh. That could be interesting.

Kurochan/Hanabi turned her attention briefly to the surrounding area before shutting off her technique. She'd just flick it on every so often to further practice her Byakugan. There was a lot more than just the Jyuuken to it after all. Even if the main branch of the family DID focus in on that part more than the rest. The idea was to let the branch family members mostly focus on the other aspects, such as scouting and spying.

Kurochan rode the shoulder for a few hours that way, ignoring the occasional complaint from the drunk. It was a C-Class mission, nothing to sneeze at. She was going to accomplish it and then have it on her record when all this was done, and before she'd even graduated the Academy. So putting up with the occasional drunken rant was worth it.

* * *

They were only two hours outside the Konohagakure gate closest to Wave Country.

"Uhm, Naruto?" asked Sakura as she walked along behind Kakashi and fidgeting a little at Sasuke's regard. He kept staring at her. Was it because she was now adult-looking compared to how she really was? Was it because she had had to be wound up by him? Was it because she was in a mechanical body and he was repulsed by the unnaturalness of it? Rather than dwell on that, maybe a safer subject?

"Yeah?" asked Naruto, glancing back from where he was apparently walking along without a concern in the world.

"When I was being rebuilt by Rockbell-san," said Sakura, her voice hesitant. "I looked up your file when she didn't shut down her connection."

"Oh?" asked Naruto.

"Oh?" asked Sasuke. "Anything interesting?"

"Well," began Sakura.

"You do realize that you might have stumbled across S-Class secrets that are best not bandied about in the open?" asked Kakashi, his single visible eye coming to rest on the team's kunoichi.

"Oh," said Sakura.

Kurochan's tail lashed a few times. There were secrets about Naruto? S-Class?

"So..." began Sakura, hesitant in the silence following Kakashi's warning. "What can you tell us about Wave? I don't remember a lot about it being mentioned in the Academy."

"Ah," said Tazuna. "Wave Country is a poor nation, located between Water Country and the Land Of Fire. Years ago, we were part of the Land Of Whirlpools and we had the ninja village of Uzushiogakure. Now, alas, we do not and have to hire ninja from the Land Of Fire for assistance."

"Uzushiogakure?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, that's the symbol of it there on the back of your jonin's vest," said Tazuna.

"The Land Of Whirlpools was very close to the Land Of Fire, there was a great friendship and many ties between the two groups," said Kakashi. "You're not nearly old enough to remember that though."

Tazuna gave a short bark of laughter at that. "Yes, I suppose so. It HAS been many years. It has been a few decades, hasn't it?"

"Huh," said Naruto. "That spiral thing in the Leaf symbol is because we were friends with some other group? What happened?"

"Their ninja were especially skilled in fuuinjutsu," said Kakashi eventually. "Other ninja villages, particularly Water and Rock but several others as well, attacked it. It was a case where the war wasn't formally declared - a diplomatic party within the walls were actually jonin level ninja. They were backed up by more forces who'd managed to get in position and maintain their secrecy by slaughtering entire civilian villages. It was the start of the Second Great Shinobi War. The other nations might have stood down as they claimed after the destruction of Whirlpool - but Konoha responded anyway. That's why some people blame the Second Great Shinobi War on Konoha."

Tazuna grunted. "Our land was never one of great wealth, but we were doing better before then. I've seen the ruins of once-prosperous villages."

"In the Academy," said Sakura, "they said something different. That twenty years after the First Shinobi War, some nations were getting wealthy while others were becoming poor. That factions were formed and that it was those factions that led to the war."

"Well, to some people's views perhaps," said Kakashi. "I've read up on it, and mainly read accounts of it that my father and my sensei left behind."

[Danger]

"Oh, you noticed?" asked Kakashi as he passed a puddle.

"Where?" asked Sakura. "Oh."

Sakura considered the puddle, the dry ground around it, and came to the now-obvious conclusion.

_chukumf_ went her arm housing.

"Uhm," began Kakashi, his visible eye widening.

_BUKUM! BUKUM! BUKUM!_ went several pulses of white light into the puddle.

"Why are you shooting -?" began Tazuna.

Two smouldering wounded ninja leapt out of the puddle.

"oh," said Tazuna in a quiet voice, deciding to shut up now.

The two leapt forward, brought their chain around Sakura, and then leapt away to tighten the bladed chain around her.

_CHUNK!_

"You shredded my clothes!" realized Sakura as the little barbs slid on her skin. "You IDIOTS!"

_Ka-SPANG!_

The two enemy-nin went stumbling as their chain was abruptly broken into pieces. Apparently some survival instincts went into play because they tried to run.

Sakura simply grabbed one by the shirt, made a quick spin on one foot, then hurled the one ninja against the other.

Both enemy-ninja went down.

Sasuke blinked a couple of times, realized he was gaping, then straightened up and coughed into a fist to recover his composure as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

"...but I wanted to whomp them with 50,000 volts," complained Naruto.

"Well, maybe the next enemy ninja ambush," said Kakashi with a fair heaping of sarcasm in his voice.

"Promise?" asked Naruto.

"Hey, what about me?" asked Sasuke, frowning at the idea that HE wasn't going to do anything awesome.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head as he trudged over to the groaning heap of ambushers. "You two, stay still. Or I'll let Sakura hit you some more and then maybe have the other two use you for a jutsu demonstration."

"My clothes," complained Sakura, fingering where her outfit was now ragged strips from the bottoms of her breasts to just below her waist.

"Don't pick up the pieces of chain, you two, there's a strong poison on it," said Kakashi without looking at his genin.

"What about me, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura.

"You might gather them up, Sakura, since you're immune to poisons," said Kakashi. "No point in leaving little pieces of poisoned metal around to inconvenience travellers."

"What... what the hell is she?" asked one of the two.

"A genin of the Leaf Village," said Naruto.

"We should interrogate these two," said Kurochan. "I think I remember something of an interrogation technique involving thirty centimeters of string, and a small fruit. Does anyone have a small fruit?"

Tazuna looked at the cat as if it were crazy. So did Sakura for that matter.

"You know many things, Kurochan," said Kakashi. "Alas, that particular torture method is forbidden as being needlessly barbaric in the treaty that ended the Second Great Shinobi War."

"Oh, pity," said Kurochan. "I heard that was really effective."

Sakura blinked, making a little squeegee sound in the process. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Considering the way the two enemies turned pale and sweaty when it was brought up," murmurred Sasuke. "I want more details."

"It... It's the Uzumaki Fruit Torture," said one of the enemy nin. "Like you said, it's forbidden."

"Well," said Kurochan. "I think magical familiars didn't sign on that treaty, so I could probably do it."

Sakura noticed that pale look on the ninja and wondered about that torture, not to mention why it was named after Naruto of all people. "Naruto, you're an Uzumaki. Do you know..."

"HE'S AN UZUMAKI?" screamed the two enemy-nin.

"We didn't know," said one enemy-nin.

"It's standing orders in Mist," said the other.

"If you see an Uzumaki, do not engage, run," said the first enemy-nin.

"If you're nice and tell us what we want to know, we'll keep the Uzumaki from doing anything... bad to you," said Kakashi, knowing how to milk it when Fate handed you something useful.

* * *

"Haven't we come far enough?" asked Tazuna four hours later.

"I suppose," said Kakashi. "We'll use that old waysite there to the left."

"Do you want me to do an area search, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto.

"Sure," said Kakashi. "Sasuke, there's a stream over there."

"Right," said Sasuke, fanning a brace of kunai in one hand to indicate his understanding.

"Good," said Sakura. "I could use a good winding-up for the night."

"Uhm," said Tazuna as Naruto produced a hammer from nowhere, struck the ground and sent six balls of lightning out into the evening.

"Just take a seat," said Kakashi, sitting down on one of the logs near the firepit. "This is the sort of thing that is a task for minions."

"Sounds like it can be handy," said Tazuna. "Having minions, that is."

"It has its moments," admitted Kakashi.


	6. Chapter 6: On the road to Wave Country

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

Chapter 6: Wave Country

* * *

Sasuke waited until everyone was apparently asleep, then scooted near where Sakura was sitting in the dark keeping watch.

"Sasuke?" asked Sakura in a whisper.

"Hnn," agreed Sasuke.

"What's wrong, your watch isn't for -" Sakura considered the position of the moon. "Three hours yet."

"Secrets?" asked Sasuke. "You know how the dead-last managed to learn his 'hijutsu'?"

Sakura made a face in the dark. No, he couldn't possibly be spending time with her because of anything to do with HER could he? "I read some of the details. Watched his test for mage ranking on a mission he had when we were both in the hospital. Saw... a few things that I want to discuss with him first before I talk to anyone else."

"So, what CAN you tell now that our 'client' is asleep?" asked Sasuke.

Sakura paused as she looked over the campsite briefly, wondering if Kakashi-sensei was going to abruptly get up if she revealed anything that was likely an S-Class secret. "Naruto tested for level as a mage, moving to B+ Rank. He has two friends, one of whom beat him pretty severely in the test. Nanoha Takamichi, who is rated S-Rank and is up for testing to S+ Rank. Apparently she's to the TSAB what Kakashi-sensei is to Konoha - reputation as being among the most powerful."

"So, 'B+ Rank' is what - chunin?" asked Sasuke.

"Something like that," admitted Sakura. "The notes indicated that he was considered for A-Rank except that with his loyalty to Konohagakure and status as a provisional associate - he's not going to be given full access to their full range of jutsu or other information."

"Where is he getting all that chakra?" asked Sasuke, frowning. He'd seen some massive jutsu going off, when he hadn't expected Naruto to be able to do any of that.

"Part of that's what I think is secret, part of it's genetic," said Sakura. "They did some testing of him there. Apparently his family line has some special chakra properties - including that they've got lots of it."

"Naruto has a friend who's jonin-rank with these other guys?" asked Sasuke thoughtfully.

"More than one, and I think Nanoha is more Kage-rank," said Nanoha. "Fate Testarossa. She's AAA but the notes indicated that she's simply refused to test higher until she's worked out some difficulties in her homelife. She's possibly Kage-rank herself. Hayate Yagami. Yuuno Scrya, he's sort of a chunin, I guess. Shamal, Signum, Vita, Zafira. I only saw enough to know Vita's a violent maniac. A few others I didn't have time to research at all."

"So this 'other world' stuff is real," mused Sasuke, staring off into the darkness.

"Yeah, that's where they rebuilt me," said Sakura. "Where they're rebuilding my body."

"Hnn," said Sasuke softly.

* * *

On their own mission, Tenten awoke to realize Rock Lee was nearby and stared at him for a moment before she could recognize him.

Which wasn't that unusual. Lots of people who'd known Lee tended to stare at him after his facial reconstruction.

She'd expected Rock Lee with new scars, not unusual in a ninja village. She hadn't expected this.

* * *

As Sakura went into something approximating sleep, and Sasuke took up the watch, Kakashi just reviewed the situation. Sakura had avoided any S-Class Secrets that Sasuke didn't already know about, so no harm there. Unless you counted a bunch of names, which Kakashi didn't count.

He'd sent Pakkun to get some retrieval nin from Konoha for the two Demon Brothers, who'd been forthcoming with some details as long as he kept Sakura and Naruto away from them.

Which annoyed Sasuke, but that was simply the way things went. Sakura's mechanical body had a number of useful features, Naruto was a mage who could fly and throw thunderbolts, and Sasuke... was feeling a bit overshadowed.

He could tell from Naruto's reaction that he REALLY wanted to find out more about his family with that tantalizing little glimpse he'd gotten. Gee, an orphan who had been shunned by nearly everyone his entire life wanted details about his family - what a shock and surprise that was. Full sarcasm intended.

Still, it might be time to give a few details now that the subject had been broached.

The Demon Brothers on the other hand, had spilled the beans. Not that uncommon really, among the smarter ninja. Holding out briefly was typical, but as skilled interrogation offices could dig out all the details and leave the victim a drooling idiot or worse - the 'three day rule' usually applied. At the end of three days, if your team was going to accomplish the mission - they had. Then you could sing like a canary. Missing-nin had even less reason to last three days. Especially with an Uzumaki, a cat who was comparing notes on famous torture techniques with a jonin, and a mechanical girl who broke their weapon into two dozen pieces and was angry at them for shredding her outfit.

Not that she hadn't trimmed it so it was now a midriff-baring top and shorts. Her hands and face looked mostly normal, her face especially. Her arms and now-exposed belly definitely showed the seams and lines and metal that showed her nature.

Sakura was self-conscious about that too, tending to shift around to try to hide those bits around Sasuke. Naruto, on the other hand, was verbally using every opportunity to expound on her still being human and Sakura.

Odd that Naruto was picking up on Sakura being self-conscious about it all, feeling nonhuman or monstrous... oh. Well, that DID explain why he was so sympathetic to her current situation, didn't it?

Hmph. Back to the Demon Brothers. Apparently they were after Tazuna. Not after Naruto, or Sasuke, or more likely - himself. No, they were one of several hired to go after Tazuna and kill him so that the shipping magnate Gato could finish subjugating Wave and setting himself up as daimyo.

He could have turned back. Should have turned back. Everyone had been ready to go. Naruto wanted details on his family and now on Whirlpool. Sasuke didn't want to have a failed or incomplete mission on his record. Sakura went along with Sasuke.

Well, it should be interesting at least.

* * *

Kyudo, the archery arts, was not something that the Hyuga normally spent time honing. Along with dozens of other weapons, the basics were taught. Main focus was given to the clan specialties, and fights were to be hand-to-hand using the Gentle Fist style whenever possible.

On the other hand, Hinata was finding that the Byakugan was also excellent for picking out the target and if one could strike with speed and precision - a bow was superior in many ways to a thrown kunai if one had the same level of mastery. Or lack of mastery.

"Shootoh! Hakabakashii!"

She heard Kiba's startled sound as the bracelet-turned-bow suddenly blurred and a dozen chakra arrows went out almost as one. Though the last arrow was malformed and dissipated only a few feet from the bow, the target manifested a spread of holes a moment later.

Hinata then had to stop and gulp breath, feeling the shakes as keeping her Byakugan active and activating that technique was very draining.

"That... was a gift from the dobe?" asked Kiba, disbelieving.

Shino seemed to consider something, glancing at Kiba and making a sound.

"Something, Shino?" asked Kurenai Yuhi, taking the target down as Akamaru trotted over to Hinata and sniffed at her in apparent concern.

"When I heard that Naruto Uzumaki had become engaged to Hinata Hyuga, and that Hinata would be on our team, I put out a few discrete inquiries," said Shino. "We are an information gathering team, after all."

"Yes?" asked Kurenai, approving of the initiative and allowing it to show in her tone.

"Am I correct in my conclusion that Naruto's surname indicates he is of descent from the Land Of Whirlpools?" asked Shino.

"That isn't exactly secret, so yes," said Kurenai, wondering how much information Shino had uncovered.

"Am I also correct, in that his mother was Kushina Uzumaki?" asked Shino.

"That is also true," said Kurenai. "Though that information is not as easily uncovered and you shouldn't talk too freely about that or certain other details you might uncover."

Shino nodded. "I had wondered what, even with the rumored bet involved, would the Hyuga clan gain from such an arrangement? What little information I have on Hiashi Hyuga indicates someone who does not act from sentimental or frivolous motives."

"You mean that all the Hyuga have a stick up their butts," translated Kiba.

"Why would they put a tree branch within their posteriors?" asked Shino.

"It's an expression, Shino. Cha," said Kiba with an eyeroll. "So why would the Hyuga tolerate someone like Naruto?"

"Kushina Uzumaki of clan Uzumaki, the last survivor of her clan," said Shino. "She was well known as a prankster, had higher than average strength and stamina, and was likewise noted as having enormous chakra reserves. Her red hair color and temperament gained her the sobriquet of 'Red Hot Habanero' among her peer group," said Shino. "Likewise, she was exceedingly skilled at fuuinjutsu."

"Huh," said Kiba as Hinata began drinking from her canteen.

Hinata herself was just covering that she herself was listening very intently.

"There was also something about how several groups of ninja had come to fear the Uzumaki, but few details as to what caused that fear," said Shino.

"So the Hyuga just want to use the guy for breeding, huh?" asked Kiba.

Hinata nearly choked on the contents of her canteen.

* * *

"Okay, we're going to go a little differently this time," said Kakashi. "Sakura, you're on point."

"Her? Why?" asked Sasuke.

"She's immune to poisons, and her clockwork body looks like metal and wood - but from the way she broke that chain, I'm guessing that neither material is quite what we're used to," said Kakashi.

Kurochan spoke up. "I don't know what either material is, but they're denser and more resilient than the sort of thing I see around Konoha. Though chakra metal comes close."

"I'll bring up the rear," said Kakashi. "Naruto, how long can you fly before fatigue becomes a problem?"

"Depends on the speed," said Naruto. "All day if I keep up a pace around walking or running on foot. At my fastest I could be back to Konoha and return inside an hour, but that'd be tiring."

"Hmmmm," said Kakashi, filing that away and seeing potential uses. "What about Tazuna's top speed? If you keep your Area Search going too?"

"Six or seven hours, I think," said Naruto after thinking about that. "That's if I keep a Wide Area Search going and then renew it every so often when I have to drop it to keep from getting a headache. Getting images from each of the spheres as they search and flicking back and forth can give you a real headache."

"Then that's your role," said Kakashi. "I want you up as high as you can, keeping an eye on us. Bring one of those spheres of yours in to signal us if you find something. This is additional training for you as well - since being able to keep that going while moving is going to be very handy in the future."

"Got it," said Naruto. "Mjolnir!"

[Flight Mode. Wide Area Search.]

Team 7 and Tazuna watched as Naruto went straight up, becoming a tiny dot in the morning sky and seeming to vanish.

"You know," said Tazuna in the following silence, "that's kinda impressive and looks damn useful."

"True," said Kakashi. "Sasuke - your main task is to walk near Tazuna. I'll be alert to menaces from behind, Sakura from the front. Naruto will keep an eye out from his vantage point all around, but he might miss something. That's why you're going to be watching the sides."

Sasuke made a little noise but then glanced overhead where Naruto was. "Can he really keep that up like that?"

"He's an Uzumaki," said Tazuna. "I'd expect being tricky is inherited. Strange that he's blonde though. Must have gotten it from his other parent."

Kakashi's head swiveled to look at Tazuna very quickly, which both Sakura and Sasuke noted.

Unknown to either genin, the same thought went through their heads at the same time. Which would have amused Sakura and annoyed Sasuke.

_A clue?_

* * *

Toltiir generally let things go on their own. It was more his style to set the dominos up and see what pattern they fell in.

So he was as surprised as anyone else when Yzma put two and two together and came up with the square root of rhutabaga.

* * *

"I honestly don't see it, Yzma," said Kronk from his hiding place.

"Ah, poor pitiful Kronk," said Yzma, looking through the binoculars. "Of course you can't. I had to drink one of my Potions Of Brilliance for all the pieces to come together."

"Yeah, but those things can misfire, you know," pointed out Kronk. "This Neji really does seem to be a guy."

"Just a clever spell, no doubt cast by Uzumaki to confuse the issue further and grant his fiancee some peace," said Yzma. "Watch as my genius reveals the truth!"

"Considering the potion you had my squirrels put in there," said Kronk. "I'd expect anyone taking in that soba would-"

_(KA-GIRL!)_

"-do like that," said Kronk.

"Wha- what WHAT?"

"Somehow I expected more," commented Kronk.

"Right now only one thing has changed," said Yzma. "This potion was special from that shop we stopped at. The rest of the transformation will take place over the next day. It will restore her to her female form, but it uses a particular archetype - so Naruto's fiancee will be helpless when she tries to act like some sneaky ninja assassin and can't!"

"Oh?" asked Kronk. "I don't see anything different, other than he's running around in a... and looking in this direction."

"Time to go!" declared Yzma, moving with surprising speed.

"YOU TWO! YOU KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!"

Kronk and Yzma didn't bother replying. They had to run. Fortunately the boy-turned-girl kept tripping and running into objects.

* * *

Naruto wasn't concerned about keeping up with Kakashi-sensei and the rest of his team.

Flying was something he felt he was reasonably good at. A couple of times when he'd had trouble getting to sleep, he'd taken to the skies over Konohagakure - just heading straight up and through the wards that had been erected around the village. He'd stayed there for a little while, looking down at the lights amongst the darkness. That light over there, that was his apartment. That light there - the Hokage tower. That light there - that had been Ichiraku's. At the distance he'd been, it had been almost like a little constellation to match the stars overhead.

It had actually brought home to him how fragile his village was, those little points of light surrounded by dark.

He had to close his eyes though, paying attention to the spheres and only opening his eyes again when the he'd had to take a break from monitoring his Wide Area Search as it went along.

About fifteen minutes in, he startled in mid-air, looked for Kakashi-sensei and decided he needed to drop in. But not directly. No point in making things easy when he could be flashy.

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha was used to being cool. Aloof. Vengeance-obsessed. Supremely competent.

Envious? No, that was not a common thing for him.

He walked near Tazuna's position, keeping an eye to the sides as they went. A flash of a now-familiar yellow as something shot past them going about as fast as a spooked rabbit.

"What's he doing?" asked Kakashi.

Sasuke glanced at his sensei, wondering what he meant.

"Those search spheres are passing our position faster," said Sakura. She shifted her stance, moving into a position Sasuke recognized as readying her forearm-gun. "Someone's coming!"

Sasuke dropped into a crouch, his kunai held ready. Though he could admit, if just to himself, that he wanted a forearm blaster too.

"Fast!" said Sakura, vaguely alarmed for a moment. "It's oh. It's just Naruto. He's coming up from the rear. Altitude five feet, speed 320kph."

Kakashi blinked at that. Maybe if they had courier duty ever assigned to them, he could hand it off to Naruto and let him deal with it.

"Duck!" called out Sakura.

"Where?" asked Sasuke before Kakashi was suddenly behind him and pushing him down.

There was a blur as Naruto tried to slow and stop and didn't do as good a job at that sort of task as at the low-altitude speed thing.

"I can see where some time flight training is going to have to be scheduled," said Kakashi drily.

Sasuke allowed his annoyance to show at the 'dead last' of his class nearly colliding into him with that sort of force.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto, "I thought you ought to know though. Some guy in a mask was going along our path, about half a kilometer that way."

"He still there?" asked Sakura.

"Don't know, sorry," said Naruto. "He spotted my spheres and threw some sort of jutsu - disrupting it. I'm trying to use my remaining spheres to watch the area he's in."

"Describe this mask," said Kakashi, apparently completely unconcerned.

"Uhm, hang on," said Naruto, focussing and causing another orb to form in midair, and then an image to appear in it.

"Ah," said Kakashi, adding this to the "genin can be useful things" folder of tricks to keep in mind. If only he could learn that and then use those around certain bathing areas and such. "Looks like a Hunter-Nin from the Land of Water. What would someone like that be doing around here?"

"Well, the Land Of Waves is located between Water and Fire," noted Tazuna as he studied the image.

"Hmmm," said Kakashi, considering their client.

* * *

Neji Hyuga was calm, cool, collected. On the outside.

On the inside, however, he was livid. Pissed. Annoyed. Ready to hurt someone.

On the plus side, he was a guy. 100%.

On the minus side, he had apparently been under a genjutsu in which he had transformed physically and then mentally into a girl. And done his hair up with ribbons. And flounced and skipped.

Who could have done it? Naruto Uzumaki was the number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja who could have done so - but apparently was out of town on a mission with Team 7. Neji was also told, in no uncertain terms, that Naruto was HOPELESS at genjutsu. That if it were possible to recieve a negative skill rating in genjutsu, Naruto would have managed it. This also let Rock Lee off the suspect list.

So, whoever had done this to him was a) very good at genjutsu, b) either had something against him personally or the Hyuga in general.

Putting the two together, Neji was able to come up with... nothing. At least nobody OF Konoha. While there might be many who held grudge against the Hyuga for any number of reasons, real or imagined, that level of skill was beyond any save a very very few.

There really was only one candidate whom he knew of that had the skill necessary to fool even the Byakugan. So he'd keep an eye on Kurenai Yuhi and see what grudge she might have against the Hyuga clan despite taking that failure of a Main Family member under her wing.

Unless.

Unless it was BECAUSE she'd taken Hinata under her wing? Could it be the forbidden love between an older teacher and her impressionable (and weak) student?

This would take looking into.

* * *

Haku frowned as one of the yellow orbs moved through the trees.

When he'd seen the first one go shooting past, he'd been alarmed - that perhaps his shadowing of the group had been detected.

That first sphere had shot past him, stopped, then come back. Which was all he really needed to see. He used senbon with an explosive tag wrapped around it. That the explosion had been so big and shot through with lightning had pretty much qualified it as Dangerous.

The team had looked like genin from what he could make out from the tracks, except one of the kids (a couple years younger than him) seemed to vanish for a long period. When he'd investigated their campsite, he'd found a peculiar spiral shape sketched into the ground several times. He thought it looked familiar, but best to check with Zabuza on it before coming to a conclusion. Then there was this strange jutsu. It had acted as if someone was controlling it, which meant that someone was considerable at that kind of jutsu - it was one he'd never heard of before and therefore likely high-level. Then there was one of the other genin's footprints. The tread was unfamiliar and pressed heavily into the ground. Female, possibly chunin age or around his own age. Female, judging from the slight arch look. An inconsequential genin, a kid who vanished, a jonin, the bridge-builder, and a female chunin.

The priority right now was to reach Zabuza with this information. Getting close was entirely too dangerous with this many unknowns.

* * *

Sasuke was irritated. He didn't even know for sure why.

Sasuke felt that whatever it was, it would be easily dealt with. He just had to demonstrate that he was a member of this team and not lagging behind his two overly flashy team-mates.

He just needed an opportunity.

* * *

"A spiral?" asked Zabuza.

"The place where the Demon Brothers were left bore an area where the same spiral was engraved in the dirt," said Haku. "I believe it was left behind by one of the Brothers in fact."

"Did it look like this?" asked Zabuza, using one finger to mark a pattern in the dirt.

"Yes, that's it," confirmed Haku.

"An Uzumaki," said Zabuza. "What do you know about them?"

"The family Uzumaki was all but wiped out, branch families scattered everywhere and in hiding," said Haku. "The family was a noble clan of the Whirlpool village - notable especially for their fuuinjutsu and for their particular behavior. Allies were benefitted, enemies met very long and painful ends. On spotting an Uzumaki, standard protocol is to retreat."

"So there's an Uzumaki in the group," mused Zabuza. "What else?"

Zabuza listened to Haku's findings, nodding once at the end to acknowledge Haku's thoroughness. "I have to check our contract."

"Zabuza-sama?" asked Haku.

"You've marked a genin team, but it includes an Uzumaki and some girl wearing training weights. Heavy enough that even with these dry conditions she's leaving signs of how much weight she's carrying. Plus some kid who is there and not there. You're right, the last genin is probably their 'dead last' - I've heard of this practice of Konohagakure. They stick their best two genin candidates with their most deadweight. Supposedly the three working together then balance out down the road or some other rubbish. Hmmm. Or maybe the Uzumaki is the girl wearing weights and not the kid who vanishes. I've never heard of a surveillance jutsu like you described, but it was an electrical discharge when you disrupted it?"

"Yes, Zabuza-sama," said Haku. "It definitely was a Lightning technique of some kind."

"I see," said Zabuza. "Yes. I'll have to check the contract. It's standard to have an Uzumaki Escape Clause - I'll just make sure it's there."

"If it is?" asked Haku.

"If it is, we'll pull up and go elsewhere. Gato isn't paying enough for facing ONE Uzumaki. We might have two here," said Zabuza.

"What if it is not in there, then?" asked Haku.

"Then we'll have to face them," said Zabuza thoughtfully. "We'll go with you in reserve with our standard Plan B. I'll face them to try and take them down quickly. Their dead last student will be the weakest link. If we manage to defeat the Uzumaki and the kunoichi and the jonin - we can avoid killing them all."

"I understand, Zabuza-sama," acknowledged Haku. He didn't WANT to kill, but it looked as if it might be necessary.

* * *

"A little chilly," commented Kakashi as the wind came off the shore.

"Tends to be at this time of year, air's cool, water's warmer," said Tazuna, pointing off in one direction. "There's a warm water current that comes up from the South. A colder water current meets it a little bit offshore."

"So the fog might be natural," said Kakashi.

"Almost certainly," agreed Tazuna. "But the materials should still get there in time, the equipment is ready, and the boat is down there."

"Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto. "Do you want me to fly above the fog?"

"How much weight can you carry?" asked Kakashi.

"Well, I dunno, I got to have one hand on Mjolnir," said Naruto. "If I'm going to go fast. Otherwise I'm looking at maybe eighty kay-pee-atch tops."

"What if the weight in question could hold on?" asked Kakashi, looking directly at Sakura.

"ME?" asked Sakura. "Why not be in the boat with Sasuke?"

"Because, judging from the tracks you leave," said Kakashi, pointing at a footprint. "You weigh over twice what Sasuke does."

"That's..." Sakura considered the footprint and then the boat.

"Sakura, can you swim in that body?" asked Kakashi.

Sakura was silent in reply.

"So Sasuke and I will travel with Tazuna and this nice young guide by boat," said Kakashi. "Along with Kurochan."

"I was wondering why you've been so quiet," said Sakura, turning towards the cat.

"Hello?" whispered Kurochan, barely loud enough to carry to the ninja next to her. "Ninja? Hidden villages? Operating in the shadows? Not putting all your cards on the table?"

"Oh," said Sakura.

"And she's supposed to be the smart one," muttered the cat before noticing the Guide was looking in their direction. "Meow."

* * *

The door slowly creaked open, and the first thing she noticed was the smell.

Naruto's apartment smelled of... ramen. How completely and utterly unexpected.

It also smelled faintly of clean soil and forest.

A window planter had been set up, and two vases in one corner held scraggly-looking evergreens of some sort in them.

[Intruder Detected. Analyzing.]

She blinked and looked to the side. Apparently Naruto had added something since finding the collapsed Sakura-doll in his apartment.

[Identified. Hinata Hyuga. Presence Is Authorized. Standing Down.]

"Byakugan," said Hinata, turning on her bloodline. There it was. A long spindly crystal suspended between two orbs of similar crystal hovering in place in the space between the two planters.

"Uhm, hello," said Hinata, dropping the Byakugan. "I'm here to water his plants."

The crystalline alarm device didn't respond to that, apparently having no problem with her activities.

* * *

"Before we go," said Naruto, unrolling a scroll. "Here."

The ninja, the Guide, Kurochan, and Tazuna all watched as Naruto released the contents of the storage scroll.

"I picked up something for Sasuke and Sakura while I was at the hospital following that one mission," said Naruto. "I was just saving it for a special occasion. Unfortunately, we're going to be separated and it's getting dangerous."

"So what did you get me?" asked Sakura, who hadn't had the chance to go shopping.

"What I got you originally was a shield device, but I sent that back and got a repair kit instead," ignoring the way Sakura's expression went through several changes on that.

Sasuke tried to look uninterested and distant. He didn't even fool the boatman/guide.


	7. Chapter 7: Wave

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

Considering all the takes on the Wave Country arc out there in fanfiction-land, i decided to throw canon completely out the window and try forging off in a new direction. Or at least a less-travelled path. Let me know how well i did, okay?

Chapter 7: Wave Country (at last)

* * *

"What I got you originally was a shield device, but I sent that back and got a repair kit instead," said Naruto to Sakura, ignoring the way Sakura's expression went through several changes on that.

Sasuke tried to look uninterested and distant. He didn't even fool the boatman/guide who'd just met him.

"It's called Elixir," said Naruto, carefully handing over the crystal stoppered vial. "Be careful with it. It's very expensive and rare. I was only able to get that because I have connections with the dragons."

"What's it do?" asked Sasuke, hoping it was something he could throw at That Man.

"It'll bring you back from the brink of death," said Naruto. "It'll heal you and restore your chakra. If you're poisoned or cursed, it'll fix that too. It's the most powerful healing potion known on Mid-Childa and even they don't see it that often."

"I'm surprised you didn't get one for your girlfriend," mused Sasuke, ignoring the sudden hiss and fluffing fur from the cat. Who looked surprised herself just after that.

"There's a potential problem with it," said Naruto. "I asked about it, and one of the mages suggested that someone with a bloodline might lose that bloodline. See it's just a potion, it can't tell if it's an enhancement or what - it might decide to cure her eyes."

Now Sasuke frowned at the look of the crystal. "Too little of it to experiment with."

"You have a contract with dragons," said Kakashi, interrupting as Sasuke brooded. "So why not summon one for Sakura to ride."

"'dragon'?" muttered Tazuna skeptically.

"Hey, good idea," said Naruto, producing his hammer and slamming it onto the ground. "Summoning!"

Again runes rotated in a circular fashion.

This time though, the dragon was smaller - barely past nine feet in length.

"Sparky!" greeted Naruto, hugging the dragon.

"Naruto!" greeted the dragon, craning his neck so that his head pressed against Naruto's back. "I heard you got your mage license upgraded. Congratulations."

Sasuke smirked at the way Tazuna stared with his mouth hanging open. Not mentioning his own moment of reaction back when Naruto had summoned this guy's mother during the bell test. Never happened, after all - he would deny it to his last breath.

"This isn't going to take long, is it?" asked Sparky. "My mom's been riding my tail about my homework."

"No, I don't think so," said Naruto. "Oh. This is my ninja team. That's Kakashi-sensei. Sakura. And that one's Sasuke."

"Where's Hinata? I wanted to meet her," said Sparky.

"Not here," said Naruto. "She's on another team."

"Oh, bummer," said Sparky.

"He's... a dragon," pointed out Sakura. Who'd convinced herself that it had all been some genjutsu and was now facing the reality of it.

"His name is 'Sparky'?" asked Sasuke.

"Well, my name among other dragons is a lot longer, and it tends to get mangled by non-dragons, so 'Sparky' will do," said the dragon, his voice somehow indicating a much younger and smaller kid.

"Why 'Sparky'?" asked Kakashi.

Sparky half-turned and spat a lightning bolt out which exploded in front of the ready-to-flee boatman.

"Ah, that explains it," said Kakashi, his visible eye crinkled in a smile hidden by his mask. "So Naruto, you'll fly. Sparky, Sakura needs someone to fly her across. Tazuna, myself, the black puffball over there, and Sasuke will go by boat."

A few glances revealed that, yes, Kurochan's fur HAD mostly gone out in a puffball.

"Is that your familiar?" asked Sparky, as the cat shook herself and tried to pretend that hadn't just happened.

"Yeah, that's Kurochan!" admitted Naruto. "Ain't she cool?"

Kurochan found herself preening and forcibly stopped herself to look over the dragon.

* * *

Sakura had initially panicked as she settled into place, sitting across the dragon's shoulders. Then she'd panicked a bit more during the launch process, with Naruto having to lend a hand to get the dragon airborne at first.

That changed after awhile though, when the flight evened out and the panic gave way to wonder. "How high up are we?"

Naruto, just above her and only a couple of meters away, answered. "Five hundred meters. That's a pretty thick fog there."

Sakura glanced down at the white cloud stretching below them to all sides. "Can you really track where they are?"

"Yeah, I'm using one of those search-spheres to track 'em," answered Naruto. "That way if they get attacked, we can respond real fast."

"It's actually difficult to keep this slow," rumbled Sparky. "Should we land ahead of them?"

"We might get spotted and then they'll know where the others will land," said Sakura. "Those WERE Mist Ninja after all. I bet they can see through this fog with no problems at all."

"So if we fly above the mist and don't go straight to the landing spot, we can confuse the issue if someone IS watching us," said Naruto.

"Oh good," said Sparky, lurching ahead. "Race you!"

* * *

"Damn fog," muttered Zabuza. "Damn contract. Damn job. Damn Uzumaki clan."

"They're out there somewhere," said Haku.

"This is one of the reasons I hated living in the Village Hidden In The Mists," said Zabuza.

"Yes, it is certainly difficult to keep one's clothes dry and keep various metal bits from rusting," agreed Haku.

A shadow flitted overhead.

"Haku?" asked Zabuza.

"Zabuza-sama?" asked Haku.

"Did you see... no. Couldn't have been," said Zabuza. Though if anyone could manage it, it would be an Uzumaki. No. Couldn't be. If an Uzumaki could do THAT, then... it would be time to settle down and have a nice occupation that didn't require facing an Uzumaki. Maybe a butcher shop, slaughtering cows and pigs and goats. Maybe one of those sandwich shops where they sliced the meat up - a 'deli' or something like that. No, it couldn't possibly be what he'd thought he'd seen because if this WAS something a chunin level Uzumaki was doing - he most definitely did not want to see what would happen if that Uzumaki hit jonin.

"I think they'll most likely head for that dock over there, Zabuza-sama," said Haku, pointing and politely not mentioning how pale the swordsman was at that moment. Probably just all the damp anyway.

* * *

Sasuke brooded.  
Kakashi was apparently reading his book, though Hanabi could tell from minute muscular movements and the occasional flick of his visible eye - that Kakashi WAS paying attention to his surroundings.

Hanabi was the only one visibly keeping watch, which didn't fool Tazuna from the way the client glanced at the cat.

Hanabi herself was fascinated, her own eyesight acute enough without an active Byakugan that she caught occasional sight of the bridge and moving shapes that were likely patrol boats.

The boatman was nervous and looking around and had apparently completely dismissed the cat who lay lazily in the back of the boat. Hanabi had watched a few real cats when they passed them. The housecats in particular had a smug superior attitude that managed to be alert but cooly dismissive of the activities of lesser mortals. Hanabi felt that not only could she do that, but that particular attitude was well suited for a Hyuga heir. It also concealed the fact that the lazy smugness could be put aside for deadly energy when the opportunity was right. Also perfect for a Hyuga heir.

Ah, they were coming up on the landing spot, and the dark shape flitting overhead indicated that Naruto and Sakura would be meeting them there.

Hanabi briefly considered transforming into a girl and jumping across when leaving the boat. Just because the boatman would likely have an amusing reaction. No, better to keep her cover as just a housecat pet of a ninja. This close to the bridgebuilder's home would make this point ideal for an ambush after all.

* * *

Zabuza held himself ready. He'd been expecting a team of raw genin, based on what the old bridge builder could afford that would be about it. A little intimidation and beating their jonin, and the genin would go fleeing back to their village. Word of mouth would get around and he'd be able to get more money on other assignments.

A dragon had just landed and disgorged a passenger, who was the Uzumaki girl. Though she seemed to be wearing some form-fitting armor under some overclothes, he couldn't really get much detail at this distance. And getting very close to - a - freaking - DRAGON - was not on his "to do" list today.

The dragon vanished in a puff of chakra smoke, revealing it was the girl's summon. Which meant that the forbidden techniques that the Whirlpool had been working on, the fear of which had caused the temporary alliance to destroy that village, had been completed. This escalated a mission that had started out as "gravy train" and gone downhill into "Uzumaki Disaster" to "Full Blown Nightmare." The only good thing of which was that if he DID get away - he would be able to make himself filthy rich selling this information to people who would practically wet themselves upon hearing about it.

Zabuza grinned. What he NEEDED was proof that Konoha was harboring one of the elite Uzumaki and they were perfecting their Seal Techniques. He could otherwise say whatever he wanted and nobody would believe him enough to pay him for that information.

So, get in. Injure the Uzumaki girl. Exchange a few words with Copycat Kakashi. Intimidate and/or injure his little genin. Then get away. Choose the right time to return, hit hard and fast and kill the bridge-builder when their defenses had relaxed some. Collect evidence on the way out. Get paid for killing the bridge builder and then turn the evidence over with the tale of the return of the Uzumaki clan to the appropriate authorities.

Then get the HELL out of the Elemental Countries before the Uzumaki (if there was one, there might be more than one) and any pet monsters could come after him.

Right about... NOW.

* * *

"So... you know many dragons?" asked Sasuke, looking at the place that had been occupied by the one that had carried Sakura across the water.

"Oh?" asked Naruto, thinking about it. "Yeah. I guess I do. I got together with Sparky mainly. You know how it goes, old story. Evil mage captures young dragon for evil experimentation, young hero steps in and brings down the Wrath Of The Heavens upon evil mage. Mage counter-attacks, minions gather. Young hero escapes with young dragon, meets family of dragon, nearly gets eaten by great-grandfather of dragon, spends some time with dragon family before rest of team catches up. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei has had missions go like that."

"Uhm, right," said Kakashi, who honestly couldn't remember ANY mission going like that. Hmmm. There were a couple that had been sort of close though, sort of. Substitute a few things here and there.

"That was on a mission for the Time/Space Administration Bureau, right?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah," said Naruto brightly. "I-"

[Danger] reported Mjolnir.

"Duck!" called out Kakashi.

"Wha-" said Sakura just before a great big sword slammed into her, sending her flying off into a tree.

Naruto straightened from over the prone client and eyed the guy standing on a sword which was now imbedded in a tree. "Mjolnir."

[Barrier Jacket. Aggressive Mode.]

"So, Kakashi," said the intruder nin.

"Zabuza Momochi of the Mist," said Kakashi. "You guys stay back, he's way out of your league."

"Like hell!" said Sasuke, running forward while throwing a kunai. This was his chance to show everyone! Sasuke Uchiha did not live in another's shadow!

_WHANG!_

The mist solidified into a second Zabuza who had just slammed the flat of his sword down on Sasuke's head. "So much for the dead weight. Now, Kakashi - just let me have the old man and nobody else has to get hurt."

Sasuke, out cold on the ground, was unavailable for comment.

"Hey, no brows!" said Sakura from where she was standing up. "EAT BLASTER!"

Having felt the impact and KNOWING he'd hit the pink-haired girl hard enough to go through her, Zabuza was fairly surprised that she was getting up again. Much less this quickly. Much less shooting at him with some sort of jutsu he was barely fast enough to avoid.

Kakashi let out a deep sigh as he moved back to protect the client and let his genin fight the jonin-level missing nin. Mainly because he really didn't think anything he said was going to dissuade them from going forward like that.

Naruto threw his hammer at the big bad.

"Stupid," said Zabuza, dodging the throw and then snagging the weapon as it went by. "Throwing away your weapon like that. Just a raw geni-"

"Mjolnir! Remote Control!" said Naruto, who then made a gesture skyward.

Zabuza reflexively tightened his grip on the hammer's shaft as he felt it twist, the head shifting.

_FWOOOSH!_

Kakashi unveiled his Sharingan, but Zabuza Momochi - demon of the mist - was already a dot in the distant sky. Then vanishing altogether. "Naruto? What did you do with the missing-nin?"

* * *

Haku watched the dot disappear overhead. "Zabuza-sama?"

* * *

"He's still holding onto the hammer, Kakashi-sensei," answered Naruto, though he sounded as if he was straining for all that he was just standing there. "Beyond that, I can't really tell."

"Okayyyy," said Kakashi, covering his eye again. "And where is your hammer?"

"Coming up on thirty kilometers altitude," said Naruto. "Thirty-two. I'm speeding it up."

"Thirty two kilometers?" asked Kakashi, glancing up. "You sure?"

"It's taking a lot of concentration to keep accelerating, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto with a definite strain in his voice.

Kakashi sighed, looking at the unconscious Sasuke. "Bring your hammer back, Naruto. We were not paid for an assassination mission, and I'm not authorized to upgrade it to that extent."

"Oh," said Naruto. "So you want me to bring the missing-nin back?"

"Yes," said Sakura, smacking her fists together with a sound like two hammers clanging. "I've got to pay him back for that sneak attack!"

"You rhymed," noted Naruto, making a gesture. "Mjolnir, return."

* * *

After reflection, Zabuza decided that not letting the hammer go was a tactical mistake. Kid was definitely an Uzumaki though. Who else would put him up here in this cold dark where things had turned all floaty?

He'd felt his tears freezing, and so wasn't looking. He'd very quickly realized there was nothing to breathe - so this pretty much left him...?

The hammer had just shifted and was moving again?

Kid was probably bringing the hammer back. Now if he just would slow it down some.

Otherwise - this was liable to hurt.

* * *

Zabuza Momochi was bloodthirsty, though not as much as he had been. He had specialized in killing quickly and silently, without warning. That, in his opinion, was the way ninja ought to operate. Not like the ninja of the Leaf Village, with their puppies and their friendliness and soft lifestyles.

Okay, maybe the friendly puppies-and-rainbows image of the Leaf ninja was just a Public Relations image. Zabuza wasn't completely sure at this point.

_So, the world really IS round,_ thought Zabuza to himself as he got a glimpse of that round mostly-blue globe with the white fluffy clouds began expanding before him. The novelty of this sight struck him - and despite thinking of himself as a bloodthirsty monster - he could appreciate the beauty of the sight. He would have appreciated it a LOT more though if he weren't continuing to pick up speed, being pulled along by the damn weapon that he'd been allowed to catch. No doubt in his mind - that had been the Uzumaki's plan all along.

The girl? Now that he'd thought more about it, he'd figured out that she was a puppet like those the Sand Village used. So he'd been lured into attacking the puppet, the Uzumaki had then tricked him into grabbing the weapon, and Zabuza Momochi was now heading for the ground at...

Zabuza pried an eye open against the curtain of flame now streaming around him and tried to estimate how fast they were approaching the ground. He closed his eye again, deciding that he didn't really have a good reference. Just call it Too Fast and be satisfied with that.

When he felt his downward drop begin to slow, Zabuza opened his eyes again. There were clouds below him. Light fluffy clouds, so peaceful and serene. Below that was the lake, looking as if he could stretch out his hand and cover it.

He'd just let go of the hammer when it was all a little closer. Closer. Closer. Now.

Zabuza frowned as he started using his other hand to try and pry the one that had a death-grip on the hilt of the hammer off. If he hit the ground at this pace, Haku wouldn't need to do the senbon attack.

* * *

"I'm slowing it down, Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto. "I also put up a barrier to keep him from frying. I take it you want to interrogate him?"

"Yes, that's it exactly," said Kakashi, apparently pleased at the reasoning of his genin.

"You should let him go splat," grumbled Sakura. "Poor Sasuke."

"You know, after getting knocked out and dismissed by the missing-nin, he's really going to be out for vengeance after this," said Kakashi, eyeing the fallen student.

"Like he wasn't before," muttered Naruto as he continued to concentrate on his efforts with his hammer.

"Uhm," interrupted Tazuna. "You do realize that keeping me safe is your mission, and killing the missing-nin out to kill me would probably do a lot towards that?"

"We're not on an assassination mission," said Kakashi. "If he attacks you, fine. All that was probably just his way of introducing himself. They're like that in Mist, you know."

"Really?" asked Sakura.

"Oh yes," said Kakashi. "For example, your genin test was the Bell Test, remember?"

Naruto nodded, showing he was listening despite the amount of concentration on whatever he was doing.

"Yeah," agreed Sakura.

"Well, in Mist, they used to pair off the graduates from their own ninja school and had them fight each other to the death. The winners graduated, the losers - well - they died," said Kakashi. '"The reason they stopped was the missing-nin we're facing. He killed his entire graduating class. Which I guess was his way of insuring he got the 'rookie of the year' spot."

"Slowing him down gradually so he... he let go?" Naruto staggered as suddenly the weight shifted through whatever connection he had.

"Uhm, how high up was he?" asked Kakashi.

"Roughly one kilometer," said Naruto. "Yeah, just over that."

"Oh," said Kakashi, looking up. Sure enough, there was now a dot and a streak overhead.

"Well, no reason to keep slowing Mjolnir," said Naruto, shaking his head.

* * *

Haku watched as the distant streak became a dot and a streak. The streak changed direction a moment later, while the dot continued its path.

Haku glanced in the direction of the Uzumaki and considered vowing revenge. If Zabuza-sama was dead, he'd do it. Otherwise, getting Zabuza away from the Uzumaki was top priority.

The dot was slowly growing larger, and eventually Haku could make out that the dot was indeed Zabuza who was apparently quite still alive. It looked like he was going through hand-signs quickly.

Haku caught a glimpse of the senior missing-nin taking a diving-stance. Then Zabuza slammed into the water, sending up a plume at the point of impact.

* * *

"There goes that Hunter Nin from Wave," said Kakashi.

"Should I go after him?" asked Naruto.

"Not right now," said Kakashi. "The first priority is the safety of the client. There may be additional ninja after all."

"Right, Area Search," said Naruto, forming and sending the spheres off as soon as Mjolnir had slapped back into his hand. "Got it."

"Now, Tazuna-san," said Kakashi, shouldering the still-unconscious Sasuke, "care to lead us to your humble home?"

* * *

"Haku?"

A familiar face slowly resolved from a blur. "Zabuza-sama. Please don't try to move."

"How bad?" asked Zabuza as he became aware that he was lying on a bed and currently seemed to look like he'd escaped from a mummy-movie.

"You managed to cushion your fall, Zabuza-sama, but the crocodile could only do so much," said Haku.

"Ah, is that what I hit before I hit the bottom of the lake?" said Zabuza. "How many broken bones?"

"Seven, Zabuza-sama. There also appears to be considerable bruising and some unknown sort of strain damage especially in your right arm. Your chakra reserves are very low as well."

"I know," said Zabuza. "I had to use a lot of chakra to deal with the acceleration among other things. Haku?"

"Zabuza-sama?" asked Haku.

"From now on, we ALWAYS insist on an Uzumaki Avoidance Clause in our contracts. No matter how bad our finances."

"Yes, Zabuza-sama," agreed Haku. "Then you confirmed it is as you speculated?"

"If I had any doubts that one of that line survived and wasn't just someone with the same name, it died in that encounter," said Zabuza. "How long?"

"I can heal the wounds over the course of a week, the chakra depletion will take at least that long as well," said Haku.

* * *

The mercenary walked calmly in, opened the small satchel he kept near his bunk, and drew out a small box.

"Writing the wife and kids again?" asked one of the other mercenaries, his voice faintly mocking.

"Laredo? What are my main skills outside being able to use a spear?" asked the first mercenary, opening the box to reveal a writing set.

"Uhm," said Laredo, clearly not having a pre-planned response to that question.

"You're a tracker," said one of the other mercenaries in the room, breaking off the poker game. Seeing their fellow paying attention, several of the other mercenaries broke off their own activities to watch.

"I'm a hunter," said the mercenary, scribbling something out. "I can track humans fine, but my main skills growing up were hunting. That's why I'm good with the spear. If you aren't - you don't eat. Hunting got scarce, no money left in Wave for fur and pelts, can't sell what I do get. Only reason I'm working for Gato, ain't got much choice if I want to feed my family."

"Yeah we get that, reg'lar family man," said Laredo. Something was going on and he didn't know what.

"I saw some weird tracks, noticed that Zabuza guy's footprints nearby, headed over there to see if I could ask 'em about it," said the hunter.

"Like they'd talk to you, a mere hunter," scoffed Laredo. Ninja generally didn't talk to mere mortals like themselves.

"I heard 'em," said the hunter. "There's an Uzumaki involved."

Half the mercenaries looked blank, a quarter looked puzzled, five of them though - turned pale.

"You mean like one of those branch family types, right?" asked a guy with two swords.

"No. I overheard. Main family. Which fits the tracks I found," said the hunter.

"That isn't a letter to your wife is it?" asked the poker player.

"Resignation," said the hunter. "Can't do my family any good if I'm on the other side of a fight with a main branch Uzumaki."

"There's an Uzumaki and they're working for the other side?" asked one of the mercenaries who'd recognized the name.

"That's bad?" asked Laredo, who wasn't the brightest guy in the room, but WAS able to read something of the reactions going on. "Worse than Gato finding out you're dropping off his payroll?"

"I'm a hunter," said the hunter. "I can get out of here and be halfway across Wave before Gato settles down to dinner."

"If Gato catches you before you get out, you won't do your family any good either," pointed out the gambler.

"You gonna rat on me?" asked the hunter.

"No," said the gambler. "I'm not going up against an Uzumaki. Are you nuts? Gato would just kill me."

"I see," said the hunter, putting the letter he'd written into an envelope and scribbling something on the outside.

"Well, I'll tell Gato and he'll see how loyal-" began one mercenary.

_schnikt - THUD!_

Stepping over the loyalist, the gambler eyed the rest of the mercenaries. "If you want to stay. Stay. If you don't - this is your big chance."

"I don't get it," said Laredo. "What's so bad about an Uzumaki?"

"If they're on YOUR side, nothing at all," said the hunter, shouldering his pack. "In fact, every story I've heard that doesn't have them eating the flesh of babies or something - they're as good to their friends as they are fiendish to their enemies. As to how bad they are to their enemies - it took four villages uniting to bring them down and they snuck in under cover of being diplomats."

"They're badasses to the badass ninjas," said the gambler, cleaning one of his knives. "When badass ninja assassins go to bed, they check underneath to make sure there isn't an Uzumaki down there waiting to avenge his clan."

"Oh," said Laredo.

"So what did you see that got you curious?" asked the gambler of the hunter.

"I saw something big flying, I found tracks from a lizard bigger than a horse," said the hunter. "A lizard that can apparently fly."

"How much are we getting paid for this?" asked one of the less clueless mercenaries. "Cause all of sudden it don't seem like enough."

The hunter nodded and ducked out the window. When Laredo checked to see what direction the other had gone, there was no trace of him.

* * *

"So, this is my humble home," said Tazuna.

Naruto shrugged. "I need to recover some chakra, sensei. Doing that with the guy who took my hammer was kinda tiring."

"Well, I suppose it can be pardoned for now," said Kakashi. "Sakura, you can put Sasuke down over there."

"hnnn. wha- WHAT?" asked Sasuke, taking that moment to wake up with a massive headache. "Sakura? Put me down."

"But Sasuke, you got knocked out by that missing-nin," said Sakura, her concern obvious in her voice.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Yeah, so in this particular storyline - the Uzumaki are the WoW Tradechat Chuck Norris of the ninja world. In particular, the rumors of what they could do with fuuinjutsu (seal techniques) - the boogeyman of the ninja world.

There's a god of mischief involved after all.


	8. Chapter 8:Wavecrest

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 8: Wave Crest

* * *

"Well, this isn't what I expected," said Yzma as she settled onto a stool. "The indignities one must go through for vengeance..."

"Yeah, vengeance quests DO tend to cut into one's comfort time," agreed Kronk. "Lemmee see what's on the menu."

"I'll try to keep my expectations reasonable," said Yzma, sniffing at the squallor around her as Kronk left to try and find that menu.

"...an Uzumaki? You're kidding me!"

"Quiet, you lout!"

Yzma shimmied down two stools towards the speakers.

"Yeah, I ain't kidding. A real main branch member of the Uzumaki clan," said a youth who had the look of a sellsword - and a cheap one at that.

"Uhm, I think I can afford a few flowers for your grave marker," said the other, a slightly nervous-looking guy who had patches of dirt ground into his clothes. Maybe a farmer?

"Don't say that!" said the sellsword. "Half Gato's mercenary force left. He's hiring up anyone who will hire or be bullied into his group."

"Once they hear THAT, they'll be even harder to recruit," said the farmer. "Damn. I thought they were all dead."

"Enough freakin' damn ninja wanted to make sure of that," said the sellsword. "It's been at least a couple of decades, but the ninja that Gato had hired - they're convinced. It's a main branch Uzumaki."

Yzma blinked a couple of times, considering approaches. Something subtle perhaps.

"Uzumaki? Y'mean like 'Naruto Uzumaki'?" asked Kronk, stopped in the process of bringing two plates closer.

"You know its name?" asked the sellsword.

"Yeah," said Kronk. "Huh. So you guys know something about him?"

"Just what we know about the Uzumaki in general," said the farmer. "They're supposed to be experts on fuuinjutsu. You know, seal techniques to manipulate stuff. Vengeful too."

"Damn vengeful," agreed the sellsword.

"Horribly vengeful," added the farmer.

"Imagine the worst thing you can think of doing to someone, then make it a thousand times worse," said the sellsword. "That's what an Uzumaki does FOR FUN."

"Yeah," agreed the farmer. "All the stories agree. If you make it personal, an Uzumaki will make you scream for death until your voice gives out. Just as a way of getting acquainted with you."

"Wow," said Kronk, taking a seat. "I haven't heard any of that. Can you tell me more?"

* * *

Sasuke twitched. "He knocked me out."

"Yeah," said Kakashi.

"Where's Naruto?" asked Sasuke, hoping that Naruto was ALSO knocked out.

"Resting," said Kakashi. "When he defeated the missing-nin with a single move, it apparently took a lot out of him."

Sasuke felt as if he was in a cold dark place. "Naruto. Defeated a missing nin. In one move. The same missing nin who..."

"Knocked you out in one move," helpfully supplied Kakashi.

Sakura tried to be supportive. "He ambushed you with some kind of solid-clone technique, Sasuke. He didn't know anything about you, or he would have taken you more seriously."

Sasuke's head was hanging but there was a little muscular twitch. "He didn't take me seriously?"

"No, Sasuke," Sakura rushed to assure her love interest. "He referred to you as 'dead weight' - which means he doesn't know you at ALL."

"Great," said Sasuke, twitching some more. "I'm 'dead weight' on this team."

"No, I certainly wouldn't say that," said Kakashi, trying to think of some positive spin on recent events. "Naruto has that 'hijutsu' angle, and Sakura is currently in a body that's got some nonstandard equipment."

"Whereas I'm just weak and NORMAL?" began to erupt Sasuke, baring teeth in what was definitely NOT a smile.

"That's not..." began Kakashi, reflecting that he wasn't exactly known for his skills in helping kids through troubled times.

"Sasuke, that's not right, you're great! I mean, I've got this stuff for now," said Sakura, clenching a fist. "Naruto has all those lightning techniques and his hammer. But you're -"

"STOP IT!" yelled Sasuke. "You're just a damn puppet, a doll! Naruto is the stupid dead last of the class!"

"I..." said Sakura.

"Shut up and leave me alone!" growled out Sasuke as he went for the door.

Kakashi winced and glanced towards Sakura, who'd apparently locked in place. Sighing, he reminded himself that this sort of thing was why he had tried to avoid being saddled with a genin team for as long as he had.

* * *

"The messages have gone out regarding the Chunin Exams," said tbe Chunin in charge of that detail. "We've gotten back one reply."

The Hokage blinked. "Didn't you release the messenger birds this morning?"

"Yes, sir, it is the Mid-Childan communication device that we've gotten a reply back from," said the Chunin. "Apparently several of Naruto's acquaintances want to attend and are requesting more detailed information."

* * *

Haku was a wraith as he slowly let himself into the house. He was quite aware of the dangers involved, yet he could not allow the Uzumaki to continue to threaten Zabuza-sama.

A discrete inquiry among the few members of staff, particularly a very talkative member of the kitchen staff, had turned up a number of tales involved with the Uzumaki. Three things formed a recurrent motif within the tales, and that degree of agreement was indicative of some truth. One, they were reknowned for having a temper. Two, vengeance for their enemies was only matched by their generosity towards those they counted as friends. Three, their talent for Fuuinjutsu - Seal Techniques of such artistry that they made the impossible possible.

Haku was counting on the genin not being able to detect his presence, after all - he'd been trained by Zabuza whose specialty was 'silent killing' - striking a fatal blow before the target knew he was there.

A slight movement caused Haku to freeze, but it was only a cat regarding him lazily from a bookshelf. As he watched, the cat settled back to its rest without so much as a tail-flick to indicate annoyance.

Cursing that he'd lost valuable seconds watching the cat, Haku moved deeper into the house. The jonin remained a danger. Kakashi Hatake was an experienced killer who'd undertaken many assassination missions. If there was even the tiniest slip of control, the faintest noise or leaking of killing intent, the jonin would be upon him in less than a heartbeat.

Haku eased the door to one room open. There were the two genin. The blonde Uzumaki and that black-haired 'dead last' that he could incapacitate but leave alive. Just stop here, kill the Uzumaki, duck into the bridge-builder's room and end HIS life - then out again.

It would be simple.

Haku felt the air movement and twisted but someone was already slamming chakra-laden strikes into his body.

* * *

To say Hanabi Hyuga was pleased would be to understate things. She'd slipped back into her cat-form and looked smug and pleased to the point where an actual purr erupted from her on occasion.

The young pretty-boy tied up in the center of the room looked about as dejected as it was possible to get.

"Well, this is an unusual situation," said Kakashi.

"I'm sorry, Zabuza-sama, I have failed you," said the boy.

"Well," said Kakashi, "you were sneaking through a house where there were guardians." Such as a jonin, two genin, a 'B+' rank wizard, and a magical familiar - but Kakashi didn't speak those details.

"Yes, I underestimated you," said Haku.

Sasuke Uchiha sulked. He brooded. He fretted. He might even be said to have wallowed in affronted ego.

Why? Because he was "rookie of the year" for his class. He was the Last Uchiha, a vengeance haunted shinobi whose destiny was to kill his eldest brother for the destruction of his clan. He excelled in every category as a ninja.

Except the rest of his team were currently overshadowing him.

Sakura had beaten TWO enemy ninja of at least chunin rank.

Naruto had taken on an enemy JONIN - and won!

Even the damn CAT had taken on a missing nin and defeated him. Her. Whatever.

Sasuke Uchiha was not a happy camper. Ninja. Whatever.

"You might as well talk to us," said Kakashi. "Your jonin may still be alive, but he's got to be heavily injured from that fall. You're captured. The Demon Brothers of the Mist - defeated. There's no reason for you to not negotiate."

"I don't know, I think if it had just been your 'dead last' over there," began the prisoner as he made a head-gesture.

"The what?" asked Sasuke, realizing that he'd just been indicated.

"I have heard of this practice that the Leaf Village paired up their best with their worst in order to maintain some sort of balance," said the prisoner, looking directly at Sasuke. "I meant no insult by it."

Dead silence, broken only when Sasuke got up and went out the door.

"Okay," said Kakashi. "He took that better than I thought he would."

"Huh," said Naruto. "What's going on, anyway? Sakura's been pretty quiet, so has Sasuke come to think of it."

"Troublesome," said Kakashi.

* * *

_An hour ago:_

"What is the problem with this group?" practically growled Gato.

"If I may?" asked a man who looked to be pressing up against the century mark.

"What?" snapped Gato.

"We're up against an Uzumaki," said the old man. "You haven't made it personal yet, but you might."

"So? What's the problem with that?" asked Gato.

"I'm old enough. I remember the Uzumaki," said the old man. "They use their special jutsu to bend time and space, and they're vengeful. And creative. I remember one, a gang-boss. Wealthy, powerful, surrounded himself with highly trained ninja and bodyguards."

This sounded enough like the current situation that Gato lost a tiny amount of sneer in his voice. "Oh? And what happened?"

"He made it personal," said the old man sadly. "Hurt a kid. Tetsuo was his name I think. I was a young student doctor back then. Tetsuo Uzumaki. Anyway, one day the boss was just sitting there in bed. Didn't find out the whole story until we did the autopsy. Had to cover his face. That expression on the boss' face gave me the willies."

Gato swallowed despite himself. "Really? His bodyguards didn't stop this 'Uzumaki'?"

"They use seals to bend time and space, kid," said the old man. "Not a mark on old Bartlett's body. Except when we tried to find a cause for his death - he was missing all of his intestines and his voice box, plus he'd had his spinal cord cut. Not a mark on him though. He died paralyzed, screaming without a voice, with his guts ripped out of him. THAT is why people ain't too anxious to go up against an Uzumaki."

"I'm too busy to listen to old wives' tales," said Gato dismissively as he walked away. "Idiots. I'll just offer a bounty."

"Old Bartlett didn't listen either," mumbled the old man, shaking his head. "Thank goodness I'm too old to do autopsies anymore, I sure don't want to have to see anything like that again."

The various mercenaries and bodyguards shifted uneasily, looking from the departing Gato to the old doctor.

"It was three days after the old boss died that the bodyguards started disappearing," said the old man, easing himself down to a seated position. "Bad business. Bad business all around."

* * *

_"Now:"_

Sasuke realized he'd been a little preoccupied by his thoughts. Otherwise he wouldn't have gone three strides out the door before realizing there was a crowd of mercenaries around him. "WHAT?"

"He doesn't have hair the color of fresh blood," pointed out a mercenary.

"Well, he could still be an Uzumaki," argued another mercenary.

"I'm not an Uzumaki, I'm an Uchiha!" snapped Sasuke.

"'Uchiha'?" asked the first mercenary.

"Ninja clan, I think," said the second mercenary. "Wasn't there one of them went crazy and killed all his kin?"

"They're ninjas," said the first mercenary. "They get progressively crazier as they move up the ranks."

"That's..." began Sasuke, who was then struck with the Truth in that statement. Were there ANY jonin or above that he'd met who weren't at least slightly nuts?

"Anyway, kid," said the second mercenary. "We're here to kill the Uzumaki. You can just run along home."

Sasuke went into a combat pose, drawing a kunai with each hand. He opened his mouth, ready to engage in the Combat Banter part of ninja battles.

"Kid? You okay?" asked the first mercenary.

Sasuke was actually fairly grateful to these guys. He really needed to vent.

* * *

Kakashi Hatake cocked his heads as the sounds continued outside the house.

"Uhm, why's Sakura sulking?" asked Naruto, whose hammer was out.

"Sasuke..." began Kakashi, trying to figure out how to put this that wouldn't have further conflict within the team dynamic. "Sasuke lashed out verbally at her a little earlier."

"Oh," said Naruto. "Well."

"Actually," said Kurochan, startling Haku from where he was listening to all this. "Sasuke referred to her as 'just a doll.'"

"Oh damn," said Naruto, glancing at Sakura.

Naruto leaned back against a wall and considered Sakura. He let out a breath, trying to figure out how to put things into words. The problem being he wasn't really GOOD with words.

"Uhm."

"I know," said Sakura.

"Well," said Naruto, scratching his head.

Sakura's head came up. "What if he's right? What if that's all I am?"

"If you were, would you still be concerned about it?" asked Naruto.

"Eh?" asked Sakura.

The cat got up, favored them all with a disdainful look, then proceeded towards the door from which the sound of combat continued.

Naruto briefly wished Fate or Nanoha were here, THEY were better at explaining stuff. Oh, on second thought, Yuuno. Nanoha might go with that Combat Therapy jutsu and considering Nanoha's tendency to blow stuff up - that might not be good for Tazuna's house.

"Uhm," said the cat. "You might want to back me up while I rescue Sasuke."

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha had thought nothing about attacking the crowd of armed thugs. They were merely normal fighters after all, whereas he was an Uchiha.

He reconsidered that concept when he felt something metal and heavy impact the back of his head. He WAS a ninja though, and managed to twist just enough that the back of his skull had not met the front of his skull.

While dealing with the funny lights and massive pain in his head, Sasuke Uchiha discovered that as bad as this was - he COULD hurt even worse.

He was wrestled to the ground and then someone put a spike in each forearm to fix him to the ground.

"Now that the warmup's over," said the guy with the two-handed maul that had driven the spikes into place, "time to get on to the main event."

"Chain Lightning!"

A serpent of lightning went into the maul-wielder, arced to the sword-wielder next to him, then the guy with the metal net, then the spear-carrier next to HIM, and finally grounded itself out against a halberd-user who had managed to plant the spike of his weapon into the ground.

* * *

Haku wasted no time, freezing his bonds and shattering them as soon as he heard the thunder going off loud enough to rattle windows.

One water clone and substitution later, he was escaping with as much speed as he could. Zabuza would have to be told - that while his mission hadn't been successful - he HAD acquired some potentially useful intel.

* * *

Naruto swung his hammer, shattering the sword of someone who'd tried to block. Lightning flared and threw two other attackers backward.

Kurochan leapt towards one enemy, grabbed his face and then raked with hindclaws - producing a lot of hurt and a painful scream if not a lot of damage, then shifted to her young girl form in mid-leap to the next opponent. "You are in range of my divination. Jyuuken!"

Sakura punched at a mercenary who simply bent his back to avoid the blow. At which point ratchets released and her extensible arm made its first real use. She then retracted it and began using the blade-function of the other arm.

Kakashi looked back towards the house, smirking at something, then watched as his genin began beating the snot out of the mercenaries.

Actually, as mercenaries went, these guys looked to be pretty good. Weapon specialists all of them. Not the usual street-rabble-with-a-weapon sort. No, these looked like experts that knew how to handle their weapons. Against a typical genin they'd be at least a match in one-on-one straight fight.

That some of these weapon-experts were being launched violently into the air, or were going down smouldering with an electric sizzling, or had their chakra networks short-circuited simply indicated that the genin of Team Kakashi were not exactly typical genin.

"You did pretty good, Sasuke," noted Kakashi as he unpinned his wayward genin.

"What do you mean 'good'?" asked Sasuke, snarling slightly.

"You beat down three of these guys, even though they're apparently in the middle-upper tier among mercenaries that aren't ninja," said Kakashi.

"But..." said Sasuke, looking at where Kurochan was arguing with Naruto and Sakura about who had beaten the most mercenaries.

"They teamed up against you," noted Kakashi. "That's why genin operate as teams - because together you're stronger than alone. If you'd operated with someone watching your back - you might not need that concussion looked at."

"But, I need to kill That Man," said Sasuke.

"And you believe he's all alone - why?" asked Kakashi. "This isn't some period drama, you know. If you think you'll find him and then proceed directly to have a one-on-one showdown with your target, that is rather unlikely. I don't think I've seen that many fair fights between ninja. Of course, we are ninja and fair fights isn't exactly a specialty of anyone in that profession."

"Hnnn," hnnned Sasuke, scowling heavily.

"Your arms aren't going to be that useful for a little while," noted Kakashi. "Fortunately I know some training that doesn't involve using your hands."

The last mercenary fell, having been electrocuted, Jyuuken-struck, and hit with an extensible punch at the same time.

Kurochan walked towards Sasuke and Kakashi, accidently stepping on a couple of fallen mercenaries as she did so.

"A little smug, are we?" asked Kakashi.

"She's a cat," pointed out Sasuke helpfully.

"Okay," said Kurochan, wiping a blood spatter off her little white uniform, then flicking it off her fingers. "He's attacked us three times now. Once with the Demon Brothers, second with the ninja, third with these mercenaries. I think we should meet this 'Gato' and indicate our displeasure."

Nobody needed to hear any promise of violence, something in her tone indicated that Gato might be less than fully functional after that meeting.

"Kurochan's bloodthirsty?" asked Naruto.

"She's a cat," helpfully pointed out Sasuke.

"The mission is to keep Tazuna safe," pointed out Kurochan. "Eliminating him would make it a lot easier."

"We were not hired for an assassination mission," pointed out Kakashi.

"Hmph," hmphed Kurochan.

"Sasuke, you're hurt!" said Sakura before stopping and considering him briefly.

"Pfeh," said Sasuke. "This is nothing."

"Oh," said Sakura, fidgeting.

"Now now," said Kakashi, not accidently putting himself between the simmering Naruto and the dismissive Sasuke. Maybe he ought to have the two work it out in a sparring session after Sasuke had healed? "Training for now. Later we'll settle a few things and run an analysis of this fight."

Kurochan shifted back to cat form and proudly walked off, tail high.

"She's leaving before the clean up?" noted Sakura, glad to be able to focus on something besides Sasuke.

"Cat," repeated Sasuke, who was familiar with felines.

* * *

"You want to attend the Chunin Exam?" asked the Hokage.

"Well, yes," said the blonde girl, fidgeting a little.

"Something wrong?" asked the Hokage. "If it concerns Naruto, I should know about it?"

Fate considered something, then held up a metal triangle. "Bardiche?"

[Unable to detect any nearby presences.]

The Hokage raised an eyebrow at this.

"It's... You know that when Naruto ended up in TSAB custody, he was given full medical and magical scans?" asked Fate.

"Yes," said the Hokage. "I had heard that detail before."

"So we not only know of his prisoner, but we know his genetic potential," said Fate.

"All right," said the Hokage, following the basic idea so far.

"So," said Fate, taking a deep breath and another nervous look at the windows. "I want to keep my options open."

"'Options'?" asked the Hokage, now lost.

"Everyone talks about me and Nanoha and Hayate, and I love them, I truly do, but -" Fate paused, turning red and looking flustered.

The Hokage thought he might have an idea what was going on here, but that couldn't really be it, could it?

"So, just in case, you know, I might like guys that way," said Fate. "Naruto has a good heart, he can be nice, and he's genetically compatible, and..."

It was just as well the pipe wasn't lit because it fell from the Hokage's slack mouth. "I... see."

"So... if I attend his exams, then I can sound him out about such things," said Fate.

"There might be another girl..." said the Hokage. Hadn't there been something about an engagement?

"Oh yes, his two fiancees," said Fate, nodding. "That's fine."

"He has two fiancees?" asked the Hokage. "And, you're okay with that?"

Fate shrugged a little. "It's a little unconventional, but I expect I'd spend a lot of time away with other duties and missions anyway."

Then and there, the Hokage decided to issue a special Ambassadorial Observer status to the girl. And write Jiraiya. Because if anything would get Jiraiya to stick around the village for awhile - this situation certainly promised it.

* * *

Kakashi went through the hand signs, slapped one hand down, and a cloud of chakra-smoke appeared.

"Yo," said the little dog.

"Don't even think about it," Kurochan said from her position atop the mantle.

"Don't even think of what?" asked the pug, not sure about the cat that didn't really smell like a cat.

"Good," said Kurochan, apparently satisfied.

"Uhm, right," said the dog.

"Pakkun, I need you to track someone," said Kakashi, interrupting the discussion before it could degrade into paired comedy.

"I didn't think it was to share a bowl of Korean barbeque," responded Pakkun. "Though it would be nice if that was the case once in awhile. Where's the scent?"

"The ropes there should have his scent," said Kakashi, indicating the ropes that had been used to hold Haku.

* * *

Hanabi's eyes were slits and her tail made little agitated motions as she used her catform to stalk along the trail.

Okay, maybe she was feeling a LITTLE miffed that someone would go summoning a DOG when SHE was around.

So, she'd just find this Gato and deal with that problem and she'd then go back with a mission accomplished.

Or at least scout out the guy's security.

* * *

"-which is where I lost the trail," explained Pakkun.

"We're not alone," said Kakashi, a moment before a strange ninja leapt down from concealment.

"Hey, you guys," said the ninja, holding a familiar-looking cat up by the scruff of her neck.

"He got Kurochan?" asked Naruto, staring.

"Yeah," said the ninja, giving the cat he was holding at arm's length a little shake. "I got your scruffy little alley cat."

Kurochan's eyes went to slits and seemed to glow.

"Oh, this is not going to end well," predicted Kakashi.

"Yeah," said the enemy nin. "I'm gonna kill the Uzumaki and make a reputation for mysel-"

Kurochan abruptly shifted, gaining a lot of weight and twisting out of the grip. A chakra spike placed via palmstrike went into the enemy-nin's abdomen. A followup strike struck the enemy-nin in the throat. While he was bent over and choking he received a kick to the head and a second kick to one knee.

In the time it took to take a breath, Kurochan was kneeling on the enemy ninja's back with one of his arms twisted behind him in what looked to be a very painful submission hold.

"Who," asked Kurochan, "are you calling 'scruffy'?"

Sasuke blinked and looked to Kakashi. "You know, I always did like cats."

* * *

The Princess of Najirea, Kodako, went through her reports only to stop and begin smirking when she came to one particular one.

Miss Notch was quite concerned for a moment. "Princess?"

"We weren't invited, but I really should attend," said the Princess. "After all, dear Naruto might not succeed without me there to cheer for him. Ohohohohohohohoho!"

Miss Notch nodded politely. It was a good thing she didn't have a stomach. She'd have ulcers otherwise, she was sure.

* * *

"How did he catch you?" asked Naruto.

"I was scouting," said Kurochan/Hanabi. "Focussing on a pair of suspicious-looking sorts."

"And the enemy nin snuck up behind you," concluded Kakashi.

In her human form, she still had a tail and cat ears. Those ears were flattened and her tail lashed about behind her. Her expression was perfectly calm though. "He hit me with some sort of gas pellet. It won't happen again."

"You're young yet," said Kakashi. "That's why children are usually trained for several years in the Academy before they're given the chance to graduate."

There were several curious looks given to Kakashi from his genin, wondering what he was implying.

Kurochan scowled, though only someone familiar with her (or looking at her ears and tail) could tell.

"Well, something else to address when we return to Konoha," said Kakashi. "Come on, I'm going to show you three some basic exercises I want you to do."

* * *

Neji Hyuga watched patiently.

There was only one person he knew of who could have hit him with a genjutsu that had him thinking he was a girl.

Kurenai Yuhi.

Since the jonin was again off with Hinata, he was checking her apartment with his Byakugan - hoping to find some clues that would indicate that she WAS the person responsible. Unfortunately the jonin was covering her tracks too well.

Sooner or later she'd slip up though, and THEN he would have her.

* * *

The Hokage blinked. "I can assure you, other than two ANBU who are sworn to secrecy on such matters, no one is listening."

"Ah, well..." said Nanoha. "It's like this. I and Fate and Hayate are really good friends, but everyone expects us to... get a bit closer to each other."

The Hokage nodded to show he was following this. "You want to keep your options open. Just in case."

"Yes," said Nanoha, startled and a little relieved. "You figured that out that quickly?"

"We're a ninja village," said the Third Hokage. "You have to be able to look underneath things and deal with a lot of secrets."

"I guess," said Nanoha, now a lot more relieved. "So I don't want to, well..."

"You don't know how your friends feel," guessed the Hokage. "So you're doing this in secret. You want to attend the Chunin Exams so you can casually bring up the possibility with Naruto, and meet with Hinata."

"Yes," said Nanoha, now fairly impressed. "Do ninja get in this situation a lot?"

"I think it's safe to say that it doesn't happen all that often," admitted the Hokage. "Not that I could give details of course."

"I saw Hinata," said Nanoha. "She was in the security footage when you visited Mid-Childa. She has such sad but beautiful eyes."

"She could certainly use some more friends, I think," admitted the Hokage.

"And if not Naruto, I think Yuuno might be interested, but I'm not sure about him," said Nanoha. "Whenever I see him, I can't help but think of him as a ferret."

"I see," said the Hokage, who really didn't in this case but put it down to different cultures.

* * *

"Shamal?" asked Hayate.

"Nanoha has gone to Konoha, but it doesn't look like she or Fate know of the other going there," said Shamal, bowing before Hayate.

"Shamal, you know I don't like that," pointed out Hayate.

"Does that mean my Mistress will punish me?" asked Shamal.

"I don't understand why you want to be punished, and don't tell me that I'll understand when I'm older because I don't think I want to understand," said Hayate.

"I can hope," said Shamal. "I have a question, Mistress."

"No, and I don't understand why you'd want to be tied up for it," said Hayate.

"No, not that question Mistress."

"Oh," said Hayate, considering that. Some of the Wolkenritter had been acting a bit oddly lately. None more so than Shamal. She debated responding to this one. "Okay, what's the question?"

"Why did you want me to track Fate and Nanoha and use Klarer Wind to spy on them?"

Hayate sighed. "Neither I nor Fate have exactly had normal childhoods, right?"

"That is true, Mistress," admitted Hayate.

"We've met Nanoha's mom though, right?" asked Hayate.

"Yes, Mistress," said Shamal.

"Did you see Fate's reaction to the discussion about how she might be a mother someday?" asked Hayate.

"No, Mistress," said Shamal. "I was not there for The Talk."

"Ah," said Hayate. "Human reproduction was... given in basic detail. Fate asked about the possibility that she might become a mother. She went very quiet and thoughtful. I think she was thinking about Nanoha's mother as well. Do you think either Nanoha or Fate would be a bad mother?"

Shamal considered that request for her opinion. "Once old enough, that either one would probably be a better mother than the records indicate Fate's mother was."

"Please," said Hayate. "A dead parrot would be a better mother than Fate's mother was to her."

"Other than that," said Shamal, considering it thoughtfully, "neither would intentionally be a bad mother, but I wonder whether or not they have the necessary skills for childrearing. Not that I'm an expert on that subject myself."

"I think either of them would be great mothers," said Hayate. "I don't know about Naruto that much. I didn't interact with him too much. He seems kind of clueless. And that security recording revealed he already has TWO fiancees. I could see fixing Fate up with Naruto while fixing Nanoha up with Yuuno. But for now, let's try helping both of them from the shadows."

"And then?" asked Shamal.

"Then we'll see," said Hayate. "I could throw my hat into the ring if it seems things are going that way."

"I thought you liked your hat," said Shamal.

"Stop trying to be punished," advised Hayate. "Now, here's my plan."

* * *

"Naruto, stop cheating," said Kakashi. "Sakura, just stop. Sasuke, don't tell me you're out of chakra already."

"Cheating?" asked Naruto.

"You're not climbing the tree with chakra, you're flying with your feet in contact with the tree."

"What?" asked Naruto. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," said Kakashi. "Sakura, I wasn't sure before, but I'm fairly sure now that training your doll-body won't make much difference when you get your old body. You know the basic exercise now, so anything further is just practice."

"Uhm, yes, I suppose," said Sakura, still seeming a bit subdued.

"Kurochan, you've got excellent chakra control, but did you really need to show up Sasuke that much?" asked Kakashi.

Kurochan blinked at that from her position in the branches a few yards above Sasuke's latest mark on the tree.

"Cat," reminded Sasuke, who wasn't happy about it but HAD interacted with ninja cats before.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

i'm currently planning on concentrating my efforts on Phoenix and Mjolnir until both stories are through the Chunin Exam arc. At which point i'll switch off and concentrate on two others.

The reasons for this is that the stories are sufficiently complicated at this point that keeping all the details juggled and seperate is getting a bit tricky. 


	9. Chapter 9:Wave goodbye

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 9: Back from Wave

* * *

"I see," said the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as he considered the young girl before him. Also keeping in mind the two older and one younger girl who were outside acting as bodyguards.

"Do you?" asked Hayate, glancing at the Hokage and then the middle-aged fellow nearby.

"Yes," said the Hokage. "Though admittedly I have not run into this situation before."

"Just to be clear on this, I'm willing to support Nanoha, Fate, or Nanoha AND Fate if they decide to go this route," summed up Hayate.

"Understood," said the Hokage.

"There is no legal reason for not doing this," said the white-haired guy. "Naruto is the last member of his clan, and the holder of his family's bloodline."

"Why exactly are you here for this discussion?" asked Hayate.

"You understand this is all top-secret?" asked the Hokage.

Hayate nodded, now interested instead of irritated.

"I'm Naruto's godfather," said the white-haired fellow. "Jiraiya. I will also be taking a more active hand in Naruto's training in the near future."

"I see," said Hayate, now gauging the two men. "You both are fairly powerful mages, or ninja, within this world's structure?"

"Any Hokage has to be, it's a job requirement," said Jiraiya. "I myself have been a spy and agent-abroad for awhile, but I'm also one of the Three Legendary Ninja of the Leaf Village."

"Oh?" asked Hayate. "I'm sure Signum and Vita would love to spar with you sometime. Just to get further information on how your world's ninja compare with our knights."

Jiraiya paused as if he sensed much pain in his future. "Perhaps. It might be interesting."

"So where do you stand in all this, other than assisting Nanoha or Fate?" asked the Hokage.

"Undecided right now," said Hayate with a shrug. "Naruto, thanks to almost two years spent with us, is almost fourteen. Hinata, as I understand it, is twelve. Nanoha and Fate are both thirteen, as am I. We have time before such decisions really must be worked out. I'll just observe from the sidelines, it may be entertaining. Though..."

"Yes?" asked the Hokage.

Hayate closed her book and looked directly at Jiraiya. "Are you the one who wrote that book?"

"What book?" asked Jiraiya.

"Icha Icha," responded Hayate.

"Uhm, aren't you a little young for that reading material?" asked Jiraiya. Odd, he wasn't getting any feeling of impending doom from this little girl.

"Yes, it didn't make much sense to me when I found it amongst Shamal's medical texts, apparently she got it from Captain Lindy who picked it up when visiting your village," said Hayate. "I think she's a fan. Shamal!"

A blonde woman entered the room.

"Yes, I'm the author for the very popular 'Icha Icha' series," admitted Jiraiya cautiously.

Shamal's eyes widened slightly. "Oh?"

The Hokage coughed, as he WAS trying to develop relations with the TSAB, but wasn't entirely sure how this development was going to effect any part of it.

Just that he had a bad feeling about it.

* * *

Tazuna glanced up at the bridge support, where Sakura Haruno sat and watched the area.

"Uhm, boss?" asked a mason.

"She's there to guard us," said Tazuna. "She's a ninja. So no, you may not flirt with her. Get back to work."

"Right," said the mason, heading back to his section of the bridge.

Tazuna grumbled something under his breath, turning his attention back to the work himself for a few minutes. On some impulse, he glanced back at the kunoichi up there.

Who looked steadily back at him with those seafoam green eyes.

"I don't think it's that," said a familiar voice.

Tazuna managed to contain himself enough that he only jumped a couple of inches. As he suspected, the cat was looking particularly smug and superior at her little prank. "What?"

"She picked a high vantage point to be able to see over a long distance," said Kurochan, still in catform. "She also wants to be alone right now."

"Hmph, kids," mumbled Tazuna.

"True," admitted Kurochan. "And she's handling it a lot differently than I would."

"Oh?" asked Tazuna, not knowing exactly what had happened but having an idea that someone must have done or said something that pretty much put the three young ninja on edge.

"Yes," said Kurochan. "I'd have beaten him within an inch of his life, then kissed him very thoroughly, and THEN I'd have said something about him wanting to play with dolls."

"I see," said a Tazuna who quite obviously did NOT have an idea what was going on.

"I have a question for you though, Tazuna the bridge-builder," said Kurochan. "You're certainly not an ideal person to question, but Kakashi is even less so. Maybe I should ask your daughter."

"Tsunami?" asked Tazuna.

"Yes," said Kurochan, getting up. "She might have some answers for me. She wasn't at her home, so perhaps you'd know where she is?"

"Probably working on fishing nets," offered Tazuna after some thought on it. "Go along the shore to the right, there's some fishing vessels still in operation."

* * *

"Tsunami?" asked the cat.

"Uhm, 'Kurochan', isn't it?" asked Tsunami, who was really really not used to talking cats. Though she HAD seen a few times that Inari was playing with the cat and the cat was acting rather more cat-like.

"It got boring watching Naruto and Sasuke competing to see who could slash a tree higher," confessed Kurochan. "Sakura's watching over Tazuna. On the other hand, I have questions for you."

"Why not ask your sensei?" asked Tsunami.

"He's a guy," said Hanabi.

"Ah," said Tsunami, figuring out that it was about female matters that the cat wanted to ask her about. "Your mother is unavailable?"

"Died before I was a year old," said Hanabi.

Tsunami paused in her repair of a fishing net to consider the oddity of her being asked to give womanly advice to a talking cat. A talking ninja magical cat.

* * *

"TAZUNA!" called out Gato as he advanced, his flunkies fanning out to either side of him.

The workers gathered behind Tazuna who looked a little worried.

"Tazuna," said Gato, stopping at a few yards away from the bridgebuilder. "You were warned."

"Not everyone caves to your threats, Gato," replied Tazuna. "Why did you wait this long?"

"'Wait'?" asked Gato. "I've sent ninja, mercenaries, and another ninja after you. Now though, you're unguarded by those fools."

"Uhm," said Tazuna, glancing up at the building support and not finding the girl he'd expected to see there.

"All you've got is some weak little slip of a girl," said Gato. "I've broken girls that were more of a threat than that little pink-haired slut. I -"

[Battle Mode - Engaged.]

Suddenly the four mercenaries to Gato's left were all flying in different directions, one knocking Gato over in his arc, and there was a kunoichi crouching there in the center of what had been their formation.

Sakura Haruno stood slowly up. She cocked her head, eyes closed, and when she opened them there seemed to be a green flash.

Mercenaries took an involuntary step back, fingering their weapons.

Gato scrambled clear, cursing the mercenary who'd knocked him over.

"Am I to understand," said Sakura slowly, each word enunciated carefully. "That you referred to a genin of the Leaf as a 'little slip of a girl'? That you called that same kunoichi a 'slut'?"

"You don't scare me," said Gato, not wanting to be seen as backing down. "You guys, get her!"

_Ka-chunk! Bweeeeeeeee!_

The mercenaries had started forward when the girl in question produced a tube from one forearm which was gathering a globe of light at the end pointed their way.

"Sensei says we aren't to assassinate you," said Sakura.

Several mercenaries gave sighs of relief.

"That doesn't mean I can't hurt you," pointed out Sakura.

[Special Technique: Grenade]

* * *

Kakashi turned in the general direction of the bridge.

"Did you hear that?" asked a panting Sasuke.

"What sounded like screams of fear and pain, with an explosion or two?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah," said Sasuke, drawing himself up.

"You guys stay here and continue to practice," said Kakashi, "I'll check this out."

Sasuke blinked at the little puff of smoke where Kakashi had been. "I really hate it when he does that."

"Yeah, annoying ain't it?" agreed Naruto.

* * *

Kakashi Hatake sighed as he heard the sound of Tazuna yelling.

Sure enough, when he got there - it was discover a section of bridge had been blown up and there were mercenaries littering the area.

"Uhm," said Kakashi. "Gato - I presume?"

The guy whose back was pressed up against a support pillar by a hand circling his neck managed to croak something.

"Sakura? Report," ordered Kakashi.

"I didn't realize the bridge was that fragile," answered Sakura, releasing Gato so that he could wheeze and gasp on his knees.

"F-f-FRAGILE?" was the predictable reaction from Tazuna.

"It's only minor damage to the surface," pointed out Kakashi. "Now, Sakura, you know we're not allowed to upgrade this to an assassination mission."

"That's right you stupid #&$$!" said Gato. "Who do you think I am?"

"Oh dear, this isn't going to end at all well," predicted Kakashi.

"I'm Gato the shipping magnate," continued Gato. "I have money and connections. How dare you manhandle me like this?"

"You'd be a lot more convincing if your voice didn't keep breaking," pointed out Kakashi, tastefully avoiding the mention of any soiling of garments. "Still, he's right Sakura. You can't kill him."

"Uhm," said Tazuna, looking at several of his employees who were holding large metal tools and looking VERY tempted.

"You see," said Gato with a sneer. "I'll recover from this and make all of you pay."

"So," said Kakashi, "try to leave him alive enough that someone else can finish him off."

"Wha?" said Gato as Kakashi vanished.

Inner Sakura spoke in the calm melodic feminine voice that was similar to those of the Mid-Childan Intelligent Devices. [Congratulations. You have won a free trip to: World. Of. Pain.]

Outer Sakura merely grinned in a nonhumorous manner and cracked her knuckles.

* * *

"Hey, that's her," said one of the toughs, moving towards Tsunami.

The cat on one of the dockside pilings gave the two of them a glare.

"Hey you, we're taking you hostage," said the other tough. "They left you all alone, eh? Well..."

The cat leapt down, shifting into a little girl with catears and a tail before her feet touched down.

"You were saying?" asked Tsunami.

"She's just a little girl," said one of the toughs, moving forward. Who then stopped when he realized his companion had just put his sword back in the sheath and was now backing away. "What?"

"I've seen those eyes before," said the second tough, continuing to back up. "That's a Hyuga. She was able to use a ninja technique to turn into a cat. So she's a ninja, and one of those elite clans with a bloodline thingie. I'm pretty good with a sword, I know all the basics. I ain't up to going up against no elite ninja."

"Aw, come on," said the first tough, moving forward again. "How tough could some little girl be? She's got to be maybe seven or eight at most."

"Byakugan," said Kurochan, causing the blood vessels near her eyes to extend.

This caused the first tough to start running forward, raising his sword high. The second tough apparently decided that his interests were best served looking for other employment.

Tsunami watched as the little girl drove two fingers into the descending arm, dodged the strike, and then slammed her other palm into a knee.

"You have lost the use of one arm and one leg," pointed out Kurochan as she stepped backward twice to place herself out of immediate strike-back range. "Do you want to run away like your friend?"

"You're just a little girl," said the goon. "I can't fall to you!"

"We'll see about that," said Kurochan, sounding as if she were bored by the whole thing.

Nearby, Inari watched with wide eyes. Apparently, if they knew how to do it, even a little kid could stand up to Gato and his men.

* * *

"So, what was it, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto, standing on a tree with his body parallel to the ground.

"A little wobbly there, Naruto," pointed out Kakashi as he checked for signs that Naruto was using his flight jutsu. His hammer was on the ground though, so maybe not.

"It's difficult to maintain," admitted Naruto. "I'm used to doing things differently."

"So what was up?" asked Sasuke, sitting on a high branch.

"Sakura was attacked by Gato and some cheap thugs, not like the weaponmasters you faced earlier - these guys couldn't use chakra at all and couldn't get behind her," explained Kakashi, sitting down on a tree stump and pulling out his little orange book.

"Oh?" asked Sasuke, sounding interested.

"You probably don't want to be there right now," said Kakashi, finding his place within the book and quickly picking up the narrative.

"Why not?" asked Sasuke.

"First, you're still working on the tree-climbing exercise," said Kakashi. "Second, I think what you said to Sakura played to some fears she might have since her accident."

_PAM!_ went a small explosion as Naruto's feet were propelled from the tree trunk.

"Naruto, control," said Kakashi, without looking up.

* * *

Hayate left the two old men behind, knowing they'd be discussing the situation. Not that she could blame them as there were an awful lot of considerations that those two had to take into account. Especially the older of the two - who had given her the impression as being a fairly responsible sort.

When she noticed that Zafira was the only one of her Wolkenritter still present guarding the door, she immediately came to several conclusions about that. "Shamal?"

"Hmmm?" asked Shamal, looking innocent. Which in and of itself spoke volumes.

"Where are Vita and Signum?" asked Hayate as Shamal followed one step behind her and Zafira in his humanoid aspect followed discretely.

"They... had some business to tend to while we are here," said Shamal.

"Where's Fate?" asked Hayate, shifting gears.

"She's gone to meet with Hinata," answered Zafira.

"Nanoha?" asked Hayate.

"Back to visit her family on Earth," said Zafira.

"So... do you know where Vita and Signum went?" asked Hayate.

Zafira sighed deeply, shook his head once, then shrugged. "They had a lead on where Naruto is."

"I see," said Hayate.

"At maximum speed, it will still take them a few hours to get there and back," offered Shamal.

There was a brief silence as they exited the building and stood in the street before Hayate made her decision. "Let them. They won't kill him and it's best if they get that out of their system early on."

Zafira nodded, having expected that response.

"So, are you going to punish me for letting them go?" asked Shamal.

"Why don't you have that 'Icha Icha' writer punish you for me?" said Hayate with a certain degree of exasperation.

"Yes, Mistress," said Shamal.

"I really don't get..." Hayate stopped and glanced at the space formerly occupied by the blonde Wolkenritter. "I really really hope that when I get to the age that I COULD understand such things, they will still make no sense to me."

"As do I, Mistress," muttered Zafira.

Hayate heard, but decided to let that one go.

* * *

"So," said Sasuke.

"Yeah," said Naruto.

"Can one of you give me a hand?" asked Sakura.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. Sasuke glanced back, shrugged.

Naruto and Sasuke began politely clapping.

"Not what I meant," said Sakura, glaring at the other members of the team as she tried to reach spots on her that she wasn't currently flexible enough to reach.

"Now, Sakura, about your performance," said Kakashi.

"I didn't kill him," protested Sakura.

"No, you just beat him severely and let the townspeople kill Gato," said Sasuke. He shrugged again. "Good. Vengeance is best served at the hands of those wronged."

Sakura hung her head briefly.

"But vengeance doesn't need to be one person acting alone," pointed out Naruto.

Sasuke shrugged again, not bothering to comment.

"That and the villagers DID need to learn that they could face their fears. As long as they're not going directly up against ninja. So," said Kakashi, breaking his silence. "What have we learned from this?"

"Wear gloves because I can't get any help in getting the splatter off?" asked Sakura.

"I'll help you," said Naruto, rolling his eyes at Sakura's evident disappointment.

"Nothing learned?" asked Kakashi.

"Well," said Naruto, taking out a small kit from his pack. "Sakura's always hit really hard - so that isn't it? Uhm. Let your teammates work out their frustration on something besides yourself?"

"That sounds like a valuable lesson," admitted Kakashi, "though not the one I was looking for."

"Vengeance is best delivered up close and personally?" asked Sasuke.

"Definitely not the lesson I was looking for," said Kakashi.

"This is one of those 'look underneath the underneath' things, isn't it?" asked Naruto. "I'm kinda direct, Kakashi-sensei. Hidden meanings aren't exactly my strength."

"Watch where you're rubbing, Naruto... hey, that stuff's good," noted Sakura.

"Multisurface cleaner," explained Naruto. "One of the things in that repair kit I got for you."

"Sakura, why didn't you signal that you were being attacked?" asked Kakashi.

"Oh," said Sakura. "Uhm. I forgot?"

Sasuke frowned a little at that.

"Well, you handled the situation, and everyone survived," began Kakashi.

"Gato didn't," pointed out Sasuke.

"Everyone important survived," said Kakashi. "So lesson learned. Right?"

* * *

The trip back to Konohagakure was quiet and uneventful. Kakashi-sensei, nose pointed in a book, had the rear. Kakashi was preceded directly by Naruto, who was trying another chakra-control exercise (this one involving floating a leaf over his forehead) while walking and maintaining three Wide Area Search balls.

Sasuke took the lead, with Sakura directly behind him.

Quiet. Peaceful. Uneventful.

[Warning. Vita.]

"Ack," said Naruto, coming to a sudden halt and not noticing the leaf fluttering to the ground now. "You're sure?"

[Affirmative, Master.]

"Oh. HELL," said Naruto. "Mjolnir!"

[Set Up. Barrier Jacket On.]

"Vita? I know that name," said Sakura.

"What's going on?" demanded a sulking Sasuke, looking around and not seeing anything. It was a large flat area. What had been rice fields sometime in the past, no indication they'd been used recently though.

"I got Yuuno to come up with a background spell that would let me know when certain people who have a certain tendency to cause massive destruction are nearby," said Naruto. "Vita's idea of saying 'hi how are you' usually involves massive property damage."

"That was it," said Sakura, nodding and now looking around herself. "One of the 'Wolkenritter' who work for Hayate Yagami."

"Right," said Naruto. "I'd better get airborne, she'll target me."

"We can handle ourselves," said Sasuke to Naruto's feet as Naruto was already accelerating at high speed.

"If it was anything like the fight I witnessed earlier," said Kakashi, putting one hand up near his headband, "it will be best viewed at a distance."

* * *

Sasuke watched, looking bored on the outside. There was Naruto, flying up higher and higher.

Boredom was put aside when a short girl in red suddenly appeared, wielding a hammer more than five times her own size. Naruto blocked using that "round shield" jutsu he'd used a couple of times before.

The girl kept the pressure up with attacks that were fairly rapid for someone wielding something that massive, and Naruto kept his shield up, but the impasse was broken when a SECOND girl showed up.

This girl, no - more a young woman, wielded a sword. Every movement was precise and measured, and she was apparently used to working with the shorter girl. There were definite signs of teamwork between the two as they went after Naruto.

"So... are they friends or not?" asked Kakashi.

"I thought they were friends, but they act like they're out for blood," commented Sakura.

Sasuke tracked the attacks as the sword became a whip and the hammer became smaller and started throwing energy bolts around. He needed one of those.

The smaller girl tossed something into the air, then used her hammer to aim those somethings at Naruto. Naruto continued to block with Round Shield, still fending off attacks from the taller girl with ANOTHER Round Shield.

Sasuke appreciated the beating that must be occurring, because he hadn't seen those Round Shields get nicked and sliced up before. Then the sword-bearer got through, and Naruto dropped the technique to engage in high speed dodging while flying as if two homicidal maniacs were on his tail.

Naruto dodged, twisted, spun, and took the fight up into the clouds.

The tall one did something, shifting her sword into a longbow of some kind, and exploded the cloud. In a fireball. That had to be a few miles in diameter.

An orange streak came out of the fireball, again dodging rapidly, and the two girls became similar but different colored streaks in the distance as they pursued.

"It would be awfully inconvenient if, after accomplishing the mission, Naruto's friends killed him before we got a chance to report," noted Kakashi.

"So, Sakura," asked Sasuke, not taking his eyes off what he could see of the battle. "What can you tell me about these 'Wolkenritter'?"

"Uhm, not much actually," said Sakura, who was watching things go on herself. "They're the personal guard or something of Hayate Yagami who is a friend of Nanoha and Fate who are both friends of Naruto."

A particularly large explosion occurred in the distance, and then the streaks all went groundward - one still zig-zagging and the other two pursuing.

* * *

"Zabuza-sama?"

Zabuza put out one hand and caught a deer that had been hurled nearly a quarter-mile by one of the explosions they were watching. Other than a slight grunt, he didn't say anything.

Haku looked at the deer, then back at where the various jutsu were hitting the fan. "I am glad that we did not have to fight them."

"Venison," said Zabuza, hefting the deer carcass. "So... older sister, little brother, youngest sister?"

"That is what it looked like to me as well," agreed Haku.

A series of explosions formed a trail that fountained fire and dirt skyward.

"Uzumaki," said Zabuza. "I think, Haku, we should investigate that job in the Broken Lands."

"But, Zabuza-sama, that's very far away," pointed out Haku.

Zabuza was silent as some form of chakra attack followed the orange comet that was streaking and zig-zagging around the sky.

"I see your point, Zabuza-sama."

"Thought you would," said Zabuza. "Let's get a little further away before we set this up. Use your ice techniques to dry out what we can't eat tonight."

* * *

It was bound to happen at some point. Naruto zagged when he should have zigged.

Sasuke winced as the orange streak fell to the ground, followed by the two other streaks of light.

"Excuse me," said Kakashi before vanishing.

"That girl," breathed Sasuke. She was ruthless, powerful, and whatever Naruto had done - vengeful. WHY couldn't he meet more girls like THAT?

* * *

"Vita."

"Signum."

"That last part was completely unnecessary."

"I just... got a little carried away."

"Exactly how are we supposed to give him the 'If you make HER cry, we'll make YOU cry' speech if he's buried in the ground and unconscious?"

"I said I got a little carried away! It's not like YOU haven't done as bad."

The two girls turned as someone snuck closer to them.

"You must be his teacher as far as these 'ninja arts' are concerned," said the taller of the two. "I am Signum."

"Vita," announced the shorter of the two.

"You were beating Naruto out of the sky because you wanted him to treat someone well?" asked Kakashi. "Do you two already know Hinata then?"

"No," said Signum.

"We probably should speak with her as well," said Vita.

* * *

"Something wrong, Hinata?" asked Fate, putting her teacup down.

"I just got this feeling of awful doom coming over me," said the paler-than-usual Hyuga. She shuddered once and hugged herself, wondering what THAT had been from.

"Oh," said Fate, considering. "I get those every so often myself."

* * *

"Wake up!" _SMACK!_ "Wake UP!" _THWACK!_ "WAKE UP ALREADY!" _WHAM!_

"So, if you haven't met Hinata," said Kakashi, wincing at the beating the short girl was giving Naruto in the interest of waking him up, "who exactly is Naruto going to make cry?"

"Nanoha, Fate, and possibly Hayate," said Signum.

"How does that work with Hinata?" asked Kakashi, because this sounded strange and he was aware of Sakura catching up with him and Sasuke not too far behind.

"That's up to Hinata," said Signum, shrugging. "No, we ARE aware of Naruto being engaged to Hinata Hyuga and Tenten."

"That's right," said Vita, dropping Naruto so she could pose dramatically. The forms were important at times like this after all.

"Naruto's engaged to TWO girls?" said a startled Sakura.

"Yes, and Fate and Nanoha and Hayate may or may not join them," began Signum.

"Naruto's engaged to FIVE girls?" exclaimed Sakura.

"Yes, and this might work out for the girls involved," said Signum, "but we want to impress upon Naruto how seriously we consider Hayate's happiness."

"I think you impressed the landscape more than anything else," drily noted Kakashi. "Isn't this a bit much? He's only twelve."

"It's a few years off before it becomes a pressing issue, but it was best to have certain things clear from the outset," stated Signum. Who didn't bother to correct Kakashi regarding Naruto's age as he'd spent very close to two years away from the village. As she understood it - one second had passed for them so that might be a reference to his official age and not his biological age.

"I see," said Kakashi as Sasuke finally joined them. "By the way, nice staying back out of immediate destruction range, genin."

"Uhm," said Sakura, having the grace to look at least mildly chastised at the reminder.

"I'll make sure Naruto gets the message when he wakes up," Kakashi assured the two girls.

* * *

This ends the Wave Arc, and next we get into Chunin Exam time.

On an unrelated note, does anyone know where i can find a pic from Rebuild of Evangelion - there's an image after Shinji falls on top of Rei that shows her pills and the prescription info. if i get a pic of that, i might be able to get it translated and figure out if it's an immunosuppressent - which is something a half-angel clone might need to avoid tissue rejection. (my theory at least)

As to who ends up with Naruto, if anyone does, that's another question altogether. 


	10. Chapter 10:Chunin Exam Time

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 10: Chunin Exam Time

* * *

Hiashi Hyuga had two members of the branch family watching alongside him.

He understood all of this was highly classified, but he also understood that it DID involve his clan through his otherwise-disappointing oldest daughter.

With a "foreign dignitary" sharing tea and conversation within their compound, it was perfectly natural for him to monitor things as much as his other duties allowed. Right? Right!

His eldest daughter managing to fall OFF of her seat was not dignified or particularly worthy of a main family member. The subject matter that had been breached had been sufficient to wonder if his own lip-reading skills had experienced a slip - so perhaps it wasn't completely inexcusable.

"'Co-wife'?" asked one of the branch members assigned with monitoring the conversation alongside Hiashi.

"Not certain at this point," said the other branch member. "She also mentioned that she was just 'keeping the option open' - so I would expect that neither of them are committing to this relationship at this time."

"Hmph," was Hiashi's remark on the whole concept.

"Still," said the first branch member, "if this results in ties to a strong allied foreign power..."

"This girl does have a powerful chakra, and the weapon she had when she arrived also had an impressive amount of chakra," noted the second branch member.

Hiashi said nothing, merely continued to lip-read the foreign ninja. Hanabi should provide more information on these as she was travelling alongside the genin in question. Until then, he would simply gather information.

* * *

Kurochan cocked an ear as explanations were given. She watched and listened as the two foreign 'mages' flew off. She pondered the situation and her own feelings regarding it.

Tsunami had not been particularly helpful, speaking only in vague terms that Hanabi quickly realized she had no references to decode with.

All of which she found definitely troublesome.

* * *

Naruto groaned and began sitting up. "Who dropped a building on me?"

"Vita," said Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi.

"Oh yeah," said Naruto. "I wonder what it was this time?"

"They wanted to inform you that if you hurt Hayate, they will hurt you," said Kakashi.

"Huh?" asked Naruto. "Why would I hurt Hayate? She's a nice girl."

"I have no idea," lied Kakashi.

"So," asked Sasuke, "know any more Women of Mass Destruction?"

"No," said Naruto, who then stopped, slowly got up while rubbing his temples. "Uhm. Actually yes. Quite a few. Huh."

Sasuke grumbled something.

Sakura stopped and stared as her hearing was sufficiently acute to make out what he'd said: "Why do I get useless fangirls while he gets 'Women Of Mass Destruction'?"

Sakura was very thoughtful as Naruto got the dirt out of his clothing.

"Naruto," said Kakashi thoughtfully. "How fast can you go by flight?"

"Pretty fast," admitted Naruto. "Why Kakashi-sensei?"

"Because the two were going to have a chat with Hinata, and possibly Tenten, I'm not sure about that one though," said Kakashi.

Naruto continued to look puzzled for a minute, then turned pale and started sweating.

"Ah," said Sasuke. "The dawn breaks."

"Oh, HELL," said Naruto as the full significance of that idea penetrated.

"Better get going," advised Kakashi.

There was a blur heading for the horizon by the time Kakashi closed his mouth under his mask.

"Wow, he can really move," noted Sakura.

"At least it'll be quieter heading back now," noted Sasuke.

"Always look at the lighter side of life, eh Sasuke?" asked Kakashi, pulling out his little orange book again.

"Do you suppose he noticed that Kurochan snuck into his backpack?" asked Sakura.

* * *

Within ten seconds of lift-off, Hanabi Hyuga knew one simple fact beyond the shadow of any doubt.

Prior to that she'd seen what had happened to Naruto and could well imagine the two attackers doing some major damage to the Hyuga compound. That having been her initial motivation for grabbing onto Naruto and getting her lithe feline body into that backpack he was using for carrying various books and scrolls.

She was now convinced that flying was the coolest thing EVER!

Stoic? Her? Of course. Except for the moment of course.

On one hand, this SHOULD be terrifying. After all, she was at least two hundred feet above the ground. She was also moving faster than she'd ever gone before.

On the other hand, she was higher than she'd ever been and travelling faster than she'd ever dreamed of.

She'd have to gain some emotional distance when she reported on this to her father, but nobody was watching her at the moment and she could just enjoy this for now. Right?

* * *

"I think we should go on without Shamal," said Hayate.

The three Wolkenritter who'd rejoined her all nodded.

"I'm scarred for life," said Vita, who'd actually walked into the room demanding Shamal stop playing games. Shamal... had been less than amused.

"It's been four hours," said Hayate just before the door opened and Shamal exited, still putting her clothing on.

"That was nice," said Shamal, looking quite cheerful.

"Ah. 'Did you get it out of your system?' she asked, dreading the answer," said Hayate.

"Watching Monty Python again?" asked Signum, facepalming.

Hayate shrugged.

"Well, no, not completely," said Shamal, pouting a little. "He seemed very reluctant to play 'torture the prisoner for her secrets' and wouldn't even tie up very securely."

"Probably afraid of diplomatic repercussions," said Signum.

"Whatever, now that Shamal's back we can go home and Vita can put an ice pack on that lump," said Hayate. "If Jiraiya was afraid of political considerations, he shouldn't have struck Vita like that."

"What makes you think it was Jiraiya who gave me a black eye?" asked Vita.

Everyone glanced at the clearly-unrepentant Shamal.

"I don't want to know," said Hayate finally.

* * *

Naruto slowed as he approached Konoha, finally stopping a few thousand feet up and just inside the gates. "Wide Area Search."

[Yes sir.]

"Swing closer to the Hyuga compound," suggested Kurochan as she fully stuck her head out of the backpack.

"I suppose," said Naruto. "You gonna be okay?"

"I don't see Vita or that other woman," said Hanabi as soon as she could activate Byakugan and scan her home. "Though there's someone with Hinata. A blonde girl."

"Is it Fate?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know her," stated Kurochan, wondering if Naruto had been spending time with cousin Neji.

"Well, go check on her," said Naruto, thinking. "Could be Shamal. She's another one of Hayate's Wolkenritter. A little quieter than Vita at least, but I get this really weird vibe off of her."

"Oh?" asked Kurochan.

"Then there's the whole bit with the Wolkenritter, which I still have trouble with," admitted Naruto. "One day they're willing to kill people and creatures, stealing away their ability to use jutsu and leaving them in a coma. In order to fill pages of this 'Book Of Darkness' in order to destroy the planet in order to save Hayate. Where was Hayate supposed to live afterwards, and how would she live with the deaths of all her friends being committed in her name?"

Hanabi wondered if Naruto had all the facts in this instance. It didn't sound like it. "Get me closer so I can jump down. I'll investigate."

"You know the place?" asked Naruto.

Kurochan sighed. "I'll tell you later."

Naruto watched as his cat-familiar leapt onto the roof as he approached it, then headed into the compound itself.

Meanwhile, he had his Wide Area Search going. That should give him a few details but so far he wasn't seeing any sign that Vita or Signum were present.

* * *

Hanabi/Kurochan shifted forms to that one that resembled her natural human form, and used her Byakugan to check around for potential problems before she went through the hallways of her home.

She still had the tail and ears but she was in her home after all. Attitude would keep anyone from asking questions she didn't want answered. A yellow ball zipped past her, reminding her that Naruto was doing that "Wide Area Search" jutsu he'd pulled out during the mission to Wave.

She'd gotten almost to the room with Hinata and the stranger when her father stepped out into the hallway.

* * *

"Naruto's coming?" asked Hinata, perking up.

"Eeep!" declared Fate, putting her cup down so hurriedly that tea splished out. "I'm not ready to face him!"

Hinata could completely empathize with that. One needed time to prepare after all. "That walk-in over there."

"The closet?" asked Fate.

"It won't hide you from the Byakugan," said Hinata apologetically, "but it's handy."

"Right," agreed Fate, going to the closet and shutting herself in.

Hinata just calmly sipped at her tea as a yellow ball went speeding through the room a moment later.

* * *

Hanabi Hyuga cleared her thoughts, calming herself, as she prepared herself to give the report.

"What do you know of 'Mid-Childa' and this 'TSAB'?" asked her father, Hiashi Hyuga, as he sat in the traditional spot for a clan head of the Hyuga clan.

"Only a few bits and pieces that I've overheard and put together," answered the little girl. "It is another nation, where jutsu use is referred to as 'magic' and practiced differently. They use devices to channel their jutsu more efficiently and have many powerful destructive jutsu that uses those devices."

"In a battle between a Hyuga and one of these Mid-Childans, what do you see as the outcome?" asked Hiashi.

Hanabi frowned as she considered that. "If the Hyuga struck while close and when the Mid-Childan was not expecting it, I would expect the Hyuga to prevail. Once the Mid-Childan gained any sort of distance, the amount of power they can bring to bear would be formidable. I am basing this on three individuals I have seen using Mid-Childan jutsu: Naruto Uzumaki, an older woman named Signum, and a younger girl named Vita."

"You think they are formidable then?" asked Hiashi.

"Yes," answered Hanabi. "I have observed Naruto Uzumaki closely. He has search techniques that allow him to gather information quickly. He has combat jutsu of both wide-area and target-specific varieties. His flight technique allows him excellent mobility and speed. I have less detail on Vita and Signum - but the two of them together were able to chase down and defeat Naruto while he led the two away from the rest of Team 7."

"What kind of jutsu were used?" asked Hiashi.

* * *

Hinata had quickly hidden the extra teacup, and so was ready when Naruto entered the room. That two Hyuga guards were now accompanying him was also to be expected.

"Hinata? You're okay?" asked Naruto when he saw her.

"W-why wouldn't I be okay?" asked Hinata, glancing up at Naruto and then back at her teacup.

"Well, Kurochan said she saw Shamal with you," said Naruto.

"I don't know a 'Shamal,'" confided Hinata.

"Oh," said Naruto. "I see. Uhm. Be real careful Hinata. If you see a short girl with a big hammer, or a taller girl with red hair and a sword - they can be real dangerous. Not that Shamal hasn't been known to do things like sticking her hand through people's chests..."

"Hinata-sama is okay, you should leave now," advised one of the Hyuga guards.

"Yeah, yeah, keep yer shirt on," complained Naruto. "I got to find my cat yet."

"Your cat?" asked the guard.

* * *

"I see," said Hiashi Hyuga. He shifted slightly on his cushion. "We have an opportunity to more closely ally with some of these Mid-Childans."

"That is so," said Kurochan/Hanabi, her ears flicking backwards atop her head. "Though I lack some data regarding them, they appear to be quite powerful."

"As you indicated with the description of their jutsu," said Hiashi thoughtfully. "It may be necessary to do something I would have rather put off."

* * *

Fate was a good girl. If she had orders through the TSAB, she could be counted on to perform with a minimum of property damage and next to no complications.

Fidgeting inside a closet, she quickly realized that this was a ninja village and that the closet was set up with screens that would allow someone within the closet to hear what was going on outside.

"Hinata? You're okay?"

Fate listened, going completely quiet as Naruto entered the room. Though she DID have to wonder why Hinata wouldn't be okay. Was there a new enemy?

"W-why wouldn't I be okay?" asked Hinata's voice.

"Well, Kurochan said she saw Shamal with you."

Fate frowned. Why would Shamal be visiting with Hinata and why would that be a problem?

"I don't know a 'Shamal'."

"Oh. I see. Uhm. Be real careful, Hinata. If you see a short girl with a big hammer, or a taller girl with red hair and a sword - they can be real dangerous."

Fate chewed her lower lip. Signum and Vita? Why would they be a problem? Okay, Vita could get a bit bratty at times, but still that shouldn't be a problem.

A voice Fate didn't recognize said: "Hinata-sama is okay, you should leave now."

"Yeah, yeah, keep yer shirt on. I got to find my cat yet."

Fate wondered if Hayate knew about that. Certainly Hayate seemed to like cats.

* * *

"Naruto has a talking cat?" asked Hayate.

"Yes, is that important?" asked Signum. "I noticed how it was following the conversation."

"So he has a cat familiar, interesting," said Hayate, drinking from her teacup with the decorated border of cats.

* * *

"Whoever these women you describe are, we are quite capable of protecting Hinata-sama when she is here," said that voice she didn't recognize.

"I ain't so sure about that," grumped Naruto's voice.

Fate, being fairly familiar with Vita and Signum and their combat abilities, seconded that doubt.

"It- it was nice seeing you, Naruto-kun," said Hinata's voice hesitantly. "Is - is your team going to take the Chunin Exams?"

"'Chunin Exams'?" asked Naruto's voice.

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei thinks we should consider taking it," said Hinata.

"Well, I suppose," said Naruto, his voice shifting like he was moving around the room. "I can't remember if Kakashi-sensei mentioned anything like that. It's been kinda crazy lately."

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"

"Oh, just a feeling. Anyway, just keep an eye out."

"Why are you warning Hinata-sama anyway? If you are in the Chunin Exams, she may be competing against you."

Fate frowned at that unknown's voice again. What - they didn't believe in aiding comrades?

"She's a friend and very important to me. I consider her to be a precious-"

_Ka-thud!_

"-person that I'll... agh! Check the tea! It might be drugged!"

"Hinata-sama has fainted," noted a female voice that sounded mostly amused.

"Oh yeah. She's got that low blood pressure or something. She really needs to get some treatment for that."

"Something like that," said the female voice, sounding even more amused.

* * *

"The 'Great Sakura Bridge'?" asked the scary-beyond-all-reason woman in the hooded cloak. "Kronk, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

"Yes, Yzma," said Kronk, rubbing his chin and looking thoughtful. "But if a vegetarian only eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?"

"Idiots, one could hope," responded Yzma.

"Wouldn't that be an idiotarian?" asked Kronk.

Yzma slapped her forehead with one hand, then drew that hand down to chin level. "Why do I even bother? Kronk. Wasn't 'Sakura' the name of that girl whom I turned into a doll?"

"Well, yeah, but 'Sakura' is a pretty common name around here isn't it?" asked Kronk.

"What makes you think that?" asked Yzma.

"Hey, Sakura!" called out Kronk.

"Yes?" said a little girl playing cards with her friends at a swingset nearby.

"Yes?" said a particularly stacked waitress at the roadside stand nearby.

"Who, me?" asked an older woman as she stopped pushing a pushcart.

"Nevermind," said Yzma aloud.

"Sorry," called out Kronk.

"Okay, maybe I am overanalyzing things," admitted Yzma. "What are the odds after all?"

* * *

"It was an accident," said Konohamaru, rubbing his nose where he'd impacted Sakura's chest.

"Yeah, that's why you got the Noogie Of Admonishment," retorted Sakura. "Honestly. Swinging on trail lines. How old are you again?"

Sakura stalked off, looking at least mildly irritated by the incident.

"-it's not like that's a real figure," continued Konohamaru. "I don't know why... uh oh."

Sakura's head slowly turned around, so that her body was still facing away from Konohamaru and his friends but her head was pointing directly at him.

"I'm scared," said Udon, backing away.

"Kono-" said Sakura, turning her body while her head remained focussed on Konohamaru, "hama - ru."

"Oh crap," said Konohamaru.

"DIE!" said Sakura, springing towards him.

Konohamaru ran as fast as he ever had, before committing a familiar error - that of looking backwards at one's pursuer while dashing forward at speed.

_WHAM!_

"Ugh," said Konohamaru, peeling himself off of the guy's leg. "Damn, that's the second one I've ran into."

"Hey brat," said the black-clad obstacle, grabbing the back of the kid's shirt to hold it up.

"Kankuro, he's just a kid," said the girl.

"I hate kids," answered Kankuro. "They got so many, they won't miss this -"

A hand on metal cables shot out, snatched the kid away from Kankuro, and retracted rapidly.

"-one?" finished Kankuro, staring at the girl who'd just broken his grip.

_CHUNK!_ went the girl's hand as an inner mechanism locked her hand and forearm back into place.

"A puppet?" asked Kankuro, now looking the girl over a little more closely. Oh, she looked mostly human, but now that he knew what to look for he could see signs. The annoying child was promptly forgotten.

"Damn," said Kankuro, walking around the puppet. "Who put you together? Look at this craftsmanship."

"What?" asked Temari.

"This puppet," said Kankuro, looking around. His gaze lingered for a moment on the brat from earlier, but he dismissed that possibility after considering it. "It's very well designed."

"I'm right here you know," growled Sakura, an eyebrow twitching to indicate her displeasure.

"She's a puppet?" asked Temari.

"The hands and face are what you normally cover," said Kankuro, using a finger to poke at the joint areas. "The joints are usually a giveaway though. You've got to reinforce them and not cover them quite so much."

"Would you stop that?" asked Sakura, glancing at the two visible shinobi. "What's Sand doing here anyway?"

"Chunin exams," said Temari. "We've got permits... damn I'm even answering her. Are you sure she's a puppet?"

"Yeah," said Kankuro, reaching out to pat a portion of anatomy. "Dig this, they even added padding here-"

Sakura experienced momentary shock from getting fondled, but then there was really only ONE possible reaction to this.

Which was to grab the offending arm, begin an airplane spin, and then throw the offending shinobi into the air. At which point she could bring her other arm into play. _ka-thunk!_

Temari watched as her brother was thrown into the air, and then shot with an energy blast. "Well, that he had coming."

* * *

Gaara watched in fascination. He'd never found Kankuro's puppets interesting, but THIS girl/puppet/whatever she was. So dangerous and efficient.

Clearly not like Kankuro's puppets.

If she survived the invasion, he'd have to see if he could acquire this particular one. That much ferocity was something he could appreciate.

* * *

Temari was a little freaked. What she had taken for a girl about her own age had been examined by Kankuro who had declared her to actually be a puppet. Knowing something of Kankuro's techniques, she'd immediately started looking for the puppet master.

Only to jerk her attention back when Kankuro had grabbed one of the puppet's breasts. The "puppet" (she had her doubts now) had dug her heels in, spun Kankuro around three times before launching him skyward. Then one of her arms had made a couple of odd shifts and she had blasted Kankuro with some sort of lightning-jutsu?

So she said the thing she judged would be the most disarming and give her the best chance of learning more. "Well, that he had coming."

"Hmph!" said the puppet/doll/girl, her arm shifting around to something normal appearing. "So you said you were here for the chunin exams?"

"Yes, will you be attending?" asked Temari, knowing that information about this strangeness could be valuable intel.

"I guess," said Sakura. "Things have been a little crazy lately."

"Well, I better go get him, he IS on my team," said Temari, waving at the whatever-she-was. "See you there." After all, departing on amiable terms would allow her more opportunities for further investigation. Their briefing hadn't even HINTED at something like lightning-hurling puppet masters here, and apparently at the genin level.

Things had just gotten interesting.

* * *

"Kurochan?" asked Naruto as his familiar beckoned him from a doorway.

Naruto stopped when he noticed Hiashi Hyuga sitting on a cushion at the head of a table, and somehow conjuring the image of ominous stormclouds in his expression.

"Naruto, we have to talk," said Kurochan, taking a seat to Hyuga's right.

"Uhm, a-no," said a voice behind Naruto, and he didn't need to look to recognize Hinata's voice.

"Sit," commanded Hiashi Hyuga, his gaze sweeping the room.

* * *

In another world and another time, Hiashi Hyuga may have had other considerations and conditions. There may have been any number of problems going on that were private clan business and remained as such.

In this world, this time, he had other concerns.

"Twice now, the Hyuga clan has been attacked by a person or persons unknown - using jutsu we are unfamiliar with," said Hiashi Hyuga, addressing both his daughters and their guest. "I believe the kunoichi on your genin team has also been attacked."

"Sakura?" asked Naruto. "Yeah, she was turned into a lifeless doll, but I got some help from Mid-Childa..."

"Yes," said Hiashi, pleased that Naruto had made the connection. Perhaps he was NOT as much of an idiot as his school records indicated. "Neji of the branch family was hit by a genjutsu that he was not able to see through with his Byakugan. That would be concerning by itself, but when one combined with the attack on my youngest daughter Hanabi, it becomes something to address."

"Your youngest daughter?" asked Naruto.

"That... would be me, actually," said Kurochan.

"You, Kurochan?" asked Naruto. "Actually, that's something I wanted to know about. Why is my familiar... oh."

Hiashi waited as he watched expressions flicker across the boy's face. Powerful jutsu, jichuriki, whatever term you wanted to use, that he was exceedingly open in his feelings was quite obvious.

"But if," began Naruto, who then stopped and frowned and considered before speaking again. "How?"

"That is something we're still trying to find out," said Kurochan/Hanabi. "With your contacts, it might be possible to get some further information."

* * *

_Okay,_ said Inner Sakura. _There's a problem._

Sakura kicked off from the ground, landing on a rooftop a moment later. "What problem?"

_Sasuke didn't rewind us this morning, remember?_ prompted Inner Sakura.

"Yeah, but we've got six hours or so left, right?" asked Sakura, who then checked. "HALF AN HOUR?"

_Duh,_ answered Inner Sakura. _When we're upset and using the advanced functions - we use more power. Guess what?_

Sakura grimaced. "Where's Sasuke?"

_Probably in the Uchiha District,_ answered Inner. _Girl, we need an upgrade._

"We just need to be wound up," said Sakura, looking around. "So where are we?"

_All the way across Konoha from the Uchiha District,_ pointed out Inner Sakura. _Hate to say it, but we're going to have to get wound up from someone besides Sasuke this time._

"Well, if it's an emergency," agreed Sakura.

* * *

"Thank you for your visit," said the female guard.

"Thank you as well, and please relay my apologies to Hinata for cutting this meeting short," said Fate, holding out one hand. "Bardiche."

[Yes sir.]

The Hyuga branch family member watched the girl fly up and vanish into the distance.

"Something wrong?" asked one of the other guards.

"Just... do you suppose if the Lady Hinata is successful, that such devices might become available?" asked the female guard.

"The chances of us seeing them even then are so small as to be insignificant," said the other branch member.

"Pity," said the female guard, turning and going back into the compound.

* * *

"I'll have to check," said Naruto, looking at Hiashi Hyuga then at the two daughters.

Hiashi nodded.

"Uhm." Naruto stood up, glancing at Hanabi and now confused.

Hanabi glanced at him, her face unreadable but her ears flicking back and forth.

Naruto finally left, hands in his pockets, feeling alone. Kurochan had been his constant companion now for quite some time, and now without her - it just brought the loneliness he'd experienced for years back.

When he got to his apartment, it was to find a familiar-looking statue just inside the door.

* * *

NEXT EPISODE:

Beginning of Chunin Exams while Hanabi goes to Mid-Childa. 


	11. Chapter 11: Chunin Exam, 1st test

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 11: Exam, first test

* * *

Naruto walked past the Sakura inside his doorway, pausing to consider her briefly, then just shrugged and started a pan of water heating on the stove.

"Did you know?" asked Naruto. "About Kurochan not being a familiar? Hinata's sister? Was Hinata spying on me? I mean the Hyuga do that stuff with their eyes, but well-"

Sakura continued to kneel by the doorway without comment.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to contact Yuuno tomorrow before the start of exams," said Naruto, his attention not on the apparently shut-down Sakura. "They'll have to look over Kuro, I mean Hanabi, since whoever hit her with a cat transformation was the one who hit you with the doll transformation."

_WHAT?_ silently screeched Inner Sakura. _Do we have a name? I'll murdalize them!_

Naruto thought a moment as the pan of water heated up. "I dunno. Only one I can think of who could do something like that would be Yzma. Not only is she dead, she has that whole villain-gloating thing going on. I suppose it could be what they were speculating at the TSAB when I brought you to them - Yzma had an apprentice studying under her who's out to avenge her. I don't know about that though - she seemed a loner. Well, except for Kronk."

_So we don't know yet? Kurochan's a girl? Waitaminute, that cat followed you everywhere. Including in the restroom and when you were out. And she seemed to get along with Sasuke! THAT TRAMP! She was trying to get close to Sasuke!_

_Why doesn't he just rewind me?_

Naruto poured hot water into a cup noodle container, then put a pair of chopsticks on the lid to hold it down. "You know, Sakura, I asked you out nearly every day for three years."

_Yeah, that was really annoying._

"I guess I was in love," said Naruto.

_Okay, this is getting creepy._

"See, when you joined the Academy, you were alone, everyone made fun of you," said Naruto, adding the next in a much lower voice. "Like me."

_Huh? What?_

"That's why I wanted to be your friend. Except then Ino made friends with you while you were studying that flower stuff and us guys were spending time learning knots and some stuff about fishing and sailing ships. I thought we had something in common. And there was something else. Something about you just seemed... comforting I guess. Familiar in an odd way. Anyway. It wasn't until later I found out why everyone hated me," continued Naruto, back to a normal conversational volume. "They shunned me, ignored me, but I could feel their hostility - their hate. I could hear the comments as they talked to each other. I did lots of things to get attention, any attention."

_Well, yeah, I kinda knew that. Sort of._

"You said something about reading my file, so you know about the fox don't you?" asked Naruto, indicating her with his chopsticks. "Everything changed of course when I ended up with the TSAB. They knew about a lot of that stuff right away. We got into some fights, I worked with 'em. Somehow I had Mjolnir when I showed up, and we became a team."

_Yeah. We saw the Kyubi No Kitsune noted in your file. We also saw the damage it was doing to you._

_Why doesn't he just rewind me? I don't want to hear this!_

"So much of my life alone, hated, and it was something I couldn't do anything about," said Naruto.

_Why not? He's obviously just getting things off his chest. We're shut down with only a click or two left of energy before shutting down to that damn rest state._

_Because I don't want to KNOW this. I want to treat him like before._

Inner Sakura sighed in their private connection. _I'm supposed to be the emotional kickass you, remember? You're supposed to be the rational one. When did we switch?_

_Arrrghhhh! I'm in an argument with myself and I'm losing! Naruto! This is your fault!_

"So I ended up engaged to Hinata, except that I'm not really sure about that," continued Naruto, shaking his head and looking into his ramen as if trying to find answers there. "SHE doesn't know about my little secret. I don't think so at least. When her family finds out, they'll break it off - believe it!"

_I... suppose that's possible._

* * *

"So we need to fix that before the Belkan cartridge system can be used. I heard he was going to be going on an exam of some kind."

"Well, he'll just have to do without his Intelligent Device for a week. Without reinforcing this section, it'll break sooner or later."

* * *

"The TSAB was great, ya know?" said Naruto. "I was only there a little over a year, but I got to fight monsters and criminals and all sorts of bad guys. I did some of that 'search and rescue' stuff. I got training and made friends. Then I came back here and it was... It was bad. I was back to being shunned and hated. Everything about ME had changed but nothing HERE had changed. So, you know me, old dumb friendly Naruto, had to keep up the mask. Friendly goofy Naruto, who's gonna be Hokage and get everyone's respect."

_You might have been trying to act the way you used to be, Naruto. You didn't manage to pull it off._

"Anyway, I'll wind you up now," said Naruto as he got up. "We got the Chunin Exams tomorrow so Sasuke will have to rewind you before whatever test they've got."

_Yeah, yeah. Let's... why did it feel different when he pulled out the key? His hands feel different from Sasuke's._

_You know why. He just said why. Sasuke regards winding us up as a chore. Naruto doesn't. It's magic - intent matters._

_Oh. Damn. That feels GOOD._

_Stop it, Naruto! That's..._

_Ooooooooooooooooh yeah._

"There we go," said Naruto, apparently cheerful, as he finished winding. "See you tomorrow Sakura, we're going to kick major behind on that exam!"

"Y-yeah," said Sakura, turning away from Naruto quickly. "Later."

Naruto watched her leave and shook his head, turning his attention back to dinner.

* * *

Naruto exited the Hokage tower but stopped on seeing both Kurochan and her father standing there.

"Uzumaki," said Hiashi.

"Lord Hyuga," responded Naruto. "Ku... Hanabi."

There was a moment of awkwardness before Hiashi broke it. "You contacted these Mid-Childans?"

"Yes, tomorrow morning they'll come by to take Hanabi with them," said Naruto. "They can investigate what was done to her, and because they've already scanned Sakura they'll be able to compare the two and look for common stuff. Can't say whether they'll get further than that or not at this point, but that might give 'em enough info to figure out how it was done and how to fix it."

"I see," said Hiashi.

"I'm sorry, Lord Hyuga, but I must hurry to join my team at the exam center."

"Both my nephew and my other daughter are competing in this Chunin Exam, so I won't wish you luck - as you most likely will be competing directly against both."

"I understand," said Naruto, inclining his head towards the clan head. There were still a lot of questions he had, but he didn't think he'd get answers anyway.

Hiashi watched the boy run off, then glanced down at his youngest daughter as she reverted to cat-form.

"This is going to be troublesome," said Hanabi, her tail lashing the air behind her.

* * *

There was a certain inertia involved in changing a timeline. Normally, something would remain in place until forces changed it. In this world, Naruto had sent ripples along by his time in the Time Space Administration Bureau.

One of those ripples had altered Sakura so that she was now a clockwork golem with a blaster in one arm and the other arm could be extended out. Among other things.

Others had shifted. Hinata, Hanabi, the people of Wave, Haku, Zabuza.

However, none of those ripples had affected the test itself.

"Eh, too crowded," said Naruto, looking up the building.

Sasuke looked at the crowded doorway of the exam center, then up the building. He smirked.

"Oh come on, it's too early for..." Sakura stopped as she realized both Naruto and Sasuke were walking up the side of the building. She shrugged and followed them, wondering if this would give them demerits on the test or points for style.

When she reached them, she lightly bopped both in the heads. "Don't forget. Secrets. We're in competition here."

"Right," said Sasuke, eyeing the girl who'd just bopped him on the head.

* * *

"Troublesome," summed up Shikamaru as Team 7 came in through the window.

"Sakura?" squeaked Ino, for once her attention on Sasuke being slightly derailed. "Sakura, what happened to you?"

"Oh, Ino, long story," said Sakura, realizing she was now taller and better built than Ino. "It's like..."

"SASUKE!" declared Ino, launching herself at Sasuke now that the initial shock over Sakura's appearance was over.

Sasuke grumbled and mostly looked uncomfortable.

"So your sensei decided you guys were ready to be beaten?" said Kiba as he approached. Then he looked at Sakura and frowned and then looked really puzzled. "Eh?"

"Na-Naruto-kun," managed Hinata, beginning to play with her fingers.

"Hinata-chan," said Naruto in reply, smiling at her but really uncertain how to respond. Not only was his familiar apparently her sister, but were they competing now?

"Get off," demanded Sasuke.

"Not a chaaance," said Ino before she was abruptly pried off by Sakura and held at arm's length.

"Hello Ino, yes, I've changed a little, and no - I'm not giving details until after my team has beaten your team," said Sakura with no hint of effort coming out in her voice.

"Troublesome," repeated Shikamaru, drawing a nod from Choji.

"Hey, you guys ought to not draw so much attention to yourselves," said an unfamiliar Leaf genin.

"Our team can't help drawing attention," said Naruto. "Cause we're simply that awesome."

Sasuke cocked his head at that and smirked.

Then Team Gai was arriving and Tenten gave him a brief nod.

"That's exactly the sort of attitude you need to curb," advised the genin. "See - most of these people have taken the exam more than once."

"Oh?" asked Kiba. "How many times have you taken it?"

"Seven actually," admitted the boy.

"Seven? Wow, you must suck," said Kiba, tactful as always.

"It's not as easy a test as you seem to think," responded Kabuto. "People do die taking the exam."

"So you've been through the test before, you know what to expect?" asked Ino, who then looked towards Sakura. "You can let me go now. You're cutting off circulation."

"Oh right," said Sakura, giving off the impression she'd completely forgotten about Ino. She let go of the other kunoichi's shirt, causing gravity to have its way with the blonde.

Ino landed with a thump.

"Oh yes, and I have these," said the genin, holding up a deck of cards.

"What are those?" asked Sakura, eyeing the cards as if expecting them to turn out to be throwing weapons. Which wouldn't be completely unexpected from a ninja actually.

"Ninja Info Cards," said the boy.

"That kinda like one of those trading card games?" asked Naruto. "I seen those, never got into them."

"What the heck are those? Some sort of fuuinjutsu?" asked Sakura.

"Ninja Info Cards," repeated the boy, kneeling to spread them out on a section of floor. "I have information on the test and most of the participants stored here, that I can unlock with chakra."

"So it is a sort of fuuinjutsu," said Sakura. "What have you got on me there?"

"Looking yourself up? Kind of vain, isn't that?" asked Kabuto.

"How best to find out how accurate you are?" responded Sakura. "Accurate info can determine whether you live or die out in the field, right Hinata?"

"Ah, y-y-yes," said Hinata, surprised she was being drawn into this. Then she saw Sakura wink at her and tried to figure out what was going on.

_[This guy is WAY suspicious,]_ said Inner Sakura. _[If we're competing on the test, why would he help us?]_

"What's your name, anyway, unusually helpful rival?" asked Sakura, her Inner Sakura's comment prompting her to dig for information herself.

"Kabuto," answered the genin, rotating his finger around on the card and channelling chakra. Data began appearing on the card.

"Ninjutsu 1.5, Taijutsu 1, Genjutsu 3, Intelligence 3.5, Strength 0.5, Speed 1, Hand Seals 4?" said Ino. "She was able to hold me up at arm's length for ten minutes!"

"More like five," said Sakura. "Haven't updated for awhile, have you?"

"Well," said Kabuto, comparing the picture with the girl in front of him. Many differences were noted. "That's..."

"Oh, hey kid," said a guy dressed in black. "This your puppet?"

"Excuse me?" asked Sakura.

"'Puppet'?" asked Ino, Kabuto, Naruto, and Shikamaru.

"Yeah, I want to find out who made her," said the newcomer.

"Kankuro, give it up, those are prosthetics," said a blonde genin from Sand.

"Can't be," said Kankuro. "Unless she's..."

Sakura had just grabbed Kankuro's forearm before he could finish the gesture. "Don't even start."

"ALL RIGHT YOU LOSERS, SETTLE DOWN!" said someone in the front. "I'm Ibiki Morino and I'm the proctor for this test."

* * *

"A written test?" asked Naruto, following with a groan and dropping his forehead to impact the desk he was seated at.

"I-It's okay, Naruto-kun," murmurred Hinata from her seat next to him.

"Don't do so good on those, eh?" asked Tenten from the other side of Naruto.

"I did horrible on those last time I took classes," admitted Naruto. "I can't remember half the crap they were teaching then either."

"Knock off the chit chat!" said Ibiki from the front of the room. "Proctors, continue passing out the tests. You genin will only turn over the tests when I give the command to start. Remember the point scoring system I have just outlined."

_[Master.]_

Naruto blinked as he felt the mental communication from Mjolnir. _What?_

_[Extrapolation from scoring system and repeated reference to ninja methodology suggests that inobvious methods of gathering information is goal of test.]_

_Oh,_ thought Naruto in reply. His eyes widened slightly as he noticed the mirrors on the ceiling that Tenten had managed to plant with a few careful throws.

His MAIN information retrieval method was useless here. Wide Area Search put out yellow crackling balls of Lightning chakra. If they wanted 'sneaky' and not 'flashy' - he was a little less capable in that regard.

"You may begin, and take the test in the manner of excellent shinobi," said Ibiki.

_Yup. You called it._

_[First question. Simple alphanumeric encryption. Text reads as follows.]_

* * *

Hinata blinked as she heard Naruto's pencil skritching away and allowed a smile to fit onto her face. Naruto was so nervous when the problem was something to anticipate, but then when he was facing the problem - he just went ahead and handled it.

These problems were HARD. There was no way she could get all of them herself.

Would Naruto mind if she copied his test?

* * *

_Dead last my dimpled butt,_ thought Tenten as Naruto went to scribbling out answers. _Keeping your abilities secret behind a facade, Naruto? Or is this some magic trick you learned in that other world?_

She'd kept quiet, for the most part, about that other world and that mission. She'd gotten a couple of kunai and some tools there, but nothing major as her funds hadn't been particularly great and the exchange rate hadn't been favorable. She'd had to explain the odd metal of the kunai when Neji had seen them as having come from that mission and then retreated behind the declaration of secret.

Tenten smirked but didn't let her eyes linger on anything in particular. _Whatever it is he's doing - LUCKY! Him being next to me makes it that much easier to get his answers and put them on MY paper. Then I can adjust the mirrors so Lee can get my answers. Neji's too far away, but with his Byakugan - I don't expect he'll have any trouble at all on this test._

* * *

Sakura winced as she looked at the questions on her test. _There's no way Naruto can get these... oh right. He probably has a spell/jutsu that can get him those answers._

_[Shannarou! Our team is gonna kick butt and take names!]_

_Ugh. That creepy perv-in-black is looking this way again._

_[Ignore him. He's probably wondering why the chakra line he snuck onto us didn't get past my Firewall.]_

_Well, yeah._

_[Besides, we can kick his butt in a more literal fashion later. Believe it!]_

_Don't pick up Naruto's bad habits._

_[Sorry.]_

* * *

"Hokage-sama, two more visitors from... That Place. Yuuno Scrya and Winry Rockbell."

The Third Hokage set his pipe to the side. "Show them in. I'm just hoping they're not looking to engage anyone else to that boy now."

"If they are," asked the chunin, "should I relay that to Jiraiya?"

"No, I would reserve that pleasure myself," said the Hokage.

* * *

"Proctor? I have to use the restroom," said the Sand-nin, holding one hand up.

Ibiki gave permission, not fooled by the puppet the Sand ninja was using as a proctor. The point of the test was not to be caught, but they had to put the caveat on the procedure that it had to be fairly obvious. If the chunin watching had to use special abilities or was uncertain, then it didn't count.

That was why the yapping dog, floating eye made of sand, mirrors being remotely operated, mouse crawling along the wall, and the Yamanaka girl trying to hide her handsigns were all ignored. In a more normal enviroment, such things would or could pass without notice. Unlike the idiots who tried dropping a pencil or just craning their neck to look at a neighbor's sheet.

Oh, that was interesting. The Yamanaka girl had just tried their clan's possession technique and had just found a target that was apparently not so easy. She'd just shot backwards in her chair with a nosebleed beginning.

Well, that new guy, Haku, was scribbling down some demerits. Apparently she hadn't reached the limit though. Good enough.

Give her points for commitment though - as soon as she'd shaken off the effects she was trying another target.

Ibiki's eyes went along the rows, trying to figure out who the girl had tried to possess who'd thrown her out. Someone to keep an eye on, as there were few genin who could manage to resist that technique.

Ah. The girl with pink hair had half-turned to glare at Yamanaka. She intrigued him anyway, and it would be interesting to see how the puppet-girl managed the next part of the exam.

* * *

"So you're here to pull Naruto's device for an upgrade," said the Hokage to Yuuno. "Unfortunately, he's in a series of difficult tests to determine if he's capable of making the next rank among ninja."

"I understand that," said Yuuno. "However, as I understand it, it is the THIRD part of the exam that is the individual combat portion. It will take about a week for the Belkan Cartridge System to be fully installed and tested."

"You understand much of a secret test," mused the Hokage aloud.

Yuuno shrugged. "I'm primarily a researcher. The third part of your exams is always a set of individual duels, usually a month after you've done the other two sections."

"And you? Will Sakura likewise be unable to compete in the Exams?" asked Sarutobi of his other visitor.

"No sir," said Winry, keeping in mind she was basically talking to a foreign head-of-state. "I can be done in about two hours. I've already assembled and brought along the parts. It's just a matter of exchanging them and then fine-tuning them."

* * *

"That was tough," said Sakura as they walked home from meeting the next proctor at Training Ground 44.

"Should we show up a little early tomorrow?" asked Naruto.

"You only think it was difficult because you're the only one in there who didn't cheat to get the answers," said Sasuke. "And no, Naruto."

"Naruto!" said a voice from the sky.

"Yuuno?" asked Naruto, recognizing the voice as he straightened up.

Sakura blinked as she recognized the other figure. "Winry?"

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. He didn't recognize either of them, the boy was flying and apparently towing the girl and her luggage along so... "Hnn."

"Naruto," said Yuuno as he landed. "I have something to discuss with you."

* * *

Yzma sat back in her palanquin and considered the possibilities. Kronk was gathering information by talking to some squirrels, so he was not being an annoyance at the moment.

Everyone in Wave was talking about an Uzumaki, but she was not at all certain that THIS Uzumaki was the one she was seeking vengeance on.

"Problem, Yzma," said Kronk as he approached.

"Not surprising," said Yzma. "Has anything gone as I expected on this trip? Is it too much to ask that the situation simply proceed in a logical manner that I can take advantage of?"

"Uhm," said Kronk as he scratched his head.

"Rhetorical question, Kronk," said Yzma. "What wrench has fate decided to throw into my quest for vengeance?"

"I don't think Fate was involved," said Kronk.

"Just... get to the point Kronk," said Yzma, rolling her eyes. "What have the squirrels told you?"

"Oh, they spotted the kid and his companions, they're heading towards a forest," said Kronk, pausing. "A really dangerous forest."

"So?" asked Yzma. "He's going to be out of town for a little while?"

"They're heading for the Forest Of Death," said Kronk.

"Which one?" asked Yzma, pulling out a map of Fire Country. "What is it with these ninja and their names? 'Forest Of Death' and 'Mountain of Despair' and 'Swamp of Desolation' and so on."

"Don't forget 'Rock Candy Mountain'," said Kronk, nodding.

"Don't be silly, there's no... oh. There actually is." Yzma frowned at the map, looked up and into the distance, then back to the map. "Halfway between the 'Valley Of The End' and 'Misery Peak' there's a 'Rock Candy Mountain' - how odd."

"Yeah, I noticed," said Kronk. "But anyway, the squirrels tell me the 'Forest Of Death' is really dangerous and got a lot more so just in the past few months."

"Perhaps we should investigate further," mused Yzma. "Perhaps it will give us a further advantage we can use."

"Or we'll all die in a horrible and painful manner," said Kronk, shrugging.

"Let's try to avoid that one," said Yzma drily.

* * *

Sasuke had been amused by the way the blonde girl had berated Sakura for the various nicks and dings in her body.

"WHAT? You're kidding me?" yelped Naruto from where he'd been discussing something with Yuuno.

Sasuke's attention returned to the blonde and Sakura as the blonde had Sakura lay on a table and began taking out torture implements.

Oh, wait, those were actually tools of some kind.

"What exactly are you doing?" asked Sasuke as the girl opened up panels on one of Sakura's legs.

"Hmmm? Oh hi, I'm Winry Rockbell," said the blonde. "Sorry if I was ignoring you. Just have a tendency to get wrapped up in my work. I'm upgrading her systems."

"Do you have anything for a survival mission? We're going to be stuck for a week in a place called the 'Forest Of Death'," explained Sakura.

"Forest eh?" asked Winry, who then whirled and started opening cases. "Yeah. I think I might have something here."

* * *

It was a lovely morning. A bird landed on a tree branch, began to sing its bright cheery song, and was promptly eaten by something that looked just like a treebranch except for the mouth that split into three parts and had all sorts of nasty teeth.

"That's the third one," pointed out one of the waiting genin.

"And THAT is why it's called the 'Forest Of Death' instead of the 'Forest Of Fun'," said Anko with a nod.

"Any chance we can move the test?" asked a genin from Waterfall.

"No," said Anko. "Good try though. Aw come on, the forest is just all sorts of fun!"

"Trees trying to eat me is not my definition of fun," stated Choji.

"It's kill or be killed, survival of the fittest, every moment could be your last!" exclaimed Anko, pointing at the forest. "In the past year, things have shown up in there so horribly monstrous you'd think some mad scientist was using it as a dumping ground!"

One of the Grass nin opened his mouth to protest, then closed it.

"There are things in there which can suck all your blood out of your body in seconds, other things which will burrow into your body and eat you from the inside out." Anko again indicated the forest. "And not only are you going to face danger from the plants and animals trying to kill you - there's the other genin who will be trying to kill you every step of the way! How can this not be good clean ninja fun?"

"Uhm, don't take this the wrong way," said the Waterfall nin. "You Konoha nin have this reputation as soft treehuggers who make nicey-nice with rainbows and team-effort, but I have to wonder if you're not really psychotic torture-loving sadists or its just your proctors."

"Oh?" asked Anko. "Thanks. I'll be keeping an eye on you."

The Waterfall genin went quiet and still.

"It's just some of us who are psychotic or sadists or some such," said a random Konoha nin.

"I'll be keeping an eye on you too. Okay," said Anko, rolling to her feet and then pulling out two scrolls. "There are these scrolls. One's a Heaven scroll. One's an Earth scroll. You will be given one at random. You will then have a week to get your hands on the other and then take BOTH scrolls to the tower at the center of the forest. Izumo is handing out the release forms, bring the three COMPLETED forms to the tent behind me where they will set you up with a scroll. You will then be led to one of the gates by a proctor. In a little over an hour, a bell will ring and everyone can go into the forest and start this test."

"What's in the scrolls?" asked another genin.

"If you open a scroll before getting to the tower, you fail the test," answered Anko, noting that the random Konoha genin from earlier had just vanished in a puff of smoke. So it was someone's shadow clone under a henge to look like someone else? "If you die - you fail and your team fails. If you fail to get inside the forest five minutes after the bell rings - you fail. If you leave the forest before getting to the tower - you fail."

"What do we eat in there?" asked Choji.

"Anything you can find, you can eat," said Anko. "Keep in mind that some of the things in there will be looking to eat YOU. Oh, and don't eat the carnivorous plants or giant beetles. They're poisonous and taste pretty nasty too. You really don't want to die because you crapped yourself to death, just think how embarrassing that would be..."

One of the other Waterfall genin turned to the one who'd spoken earlier. "I think she's just one of those jonin that's been a little too often out on the S-Rank missions. You know they tend to come back a little loopy from those."

Which caused Anko to throw a kunai to cut that speaker's cheek, followed by her using a shunshin to get behind her and then lick the blood off that cheek. Which pretty much cemented everyone's opinion of her as That Crazy Proctor Woman.

Some of the foreign nin, the younger crowd at least, actually began to have some sympathy for the Konoha genin. Not much to be sure, but it WAS there.

* * *

"You gonna be able to do anything without your hammer?" asked Sasuke.

"Sasuke, you're concerned about me? I'm touched," said Naruto, acting surprised. "Not to mention surprised as hell."

"Pfeh, I don't want you holding us all back," said Sasuke, commencing eyeroll.

"Oh, should have known," muttered Naruto. "Thought you were developing a heart there. I can still use a number of spells. The problem is that Mjolnir filters my chakra and allows me to use some higher level techniques. Unless there are dragons, sandworms, vampires, or something like that - we should be good."

"I've got a Belkan Cartridge System now," said Sakura, tapping one arm with the hand from the other. "I can cover for Naruto's weakness." She didn't mention the limited number of shells she had to use in it or Winry's repeated statements of not using more than a maximum of two at a time.

Naruto, predictably, started sulking.

Sasuke, on the other hand, smirked.


	12. Chapter 12: Chunin Exam, 2nd test

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 12: Chunin Exam, second test

* * *

There were those who said Sasuke Uchiha was completely self-absorbed, arrogant, and a complete and utter prick. Others would say he was handsome, aloof, cool, and talented. He was not, however, unobservant when he chose to be.

_Naruto's nervous?_ noted Sasuke without apparently paying any attention to the one team-member. As far as anyone was concerned, all three of them were waiting for the starting bell and the gates to open.

_Sakura, on the other hand, looks like she can hardly wait to start._

It had been... odd. Yes, that word would work. Odd to see Sakura taken apart before his eyes, with Naruto joining them after having surrendered that hammer of his to the other boy.

Sakura kept talking during the disassembly, frequently commenting on how weird something felt as panels were pulled and parts taken out and replaced with different ones.

He'd watched though. In a way it had been fascinating and a bit weird. Sakura hadn't initially wanted him there, but had stopped protesting after Winry had pointed out that if anything went wrong - SOMEONE should know where all the cutoffs and connection points were.

Which was one reason that the glum Naruto had come over to watch.

There were access panels on Sakura's back, arms, and legs. There was also an emergency disconnect point where if Sakura's body were destroyed, her essence could still be saved. It wasn't going to be easy to get to though, unless her body WAS mostly destroyed.

Sasuke continued to wait, quiet and apparently brooding as he went over details from memory. That Sakura was now able to switch out equipment for particular missions just made her more useful.

What would happen when Sakura's human body was returned and the doll-body was discarded? Nobody else, least of all Sakura, seemed to have considered that angle.

* * *

_Well, Sasuke has seen what there is of me. If he wasn't convinced I'm a 'doll' before - he is now._

_[Wait till he sees us in action! He'll know how valuable Sakura Haruno can be! YEAH!]_

Sakura didn't sigh, as she really didn't need to breathe.

_[Whoa. Dig that. Elmarnian Blood Worm. Those aren't native to this dimension.]_

Sakura used one of her new upgrades. [Sniper Scope]

_You're right. What's going on here?_ Sakura mused to herself, or to her Inner Sakura actually.

_[Could be the unknown enemy that struck us and 'Kurochan' but I kinda doubt it. Crazy Proctor Lady said it had been accumulating for about a year. We were hit less than three months ago.]_

_Naruto looks... insecure. I'm really not used to that._

_[Remember what he said.]_

_Which part?_

Sakura could practically see her Inner Sakura give a frustrated look her way. _[It filtered his chakra. Hello. The Kyubi? Its chakra is poisonous. When he got the hammer, how different did he act?]_

Sakura winced and felt like hitting her forehead. _He's been acting smarter. More serious._

_[So he's back to being poisoned by fox chakra, he's feeling alone - it'd be like if you and I got seperated since Mjolnir's an Intelligent Device, and he's mostly likely feeling duller and weaker. Of freaking course he's acting like he's not sure of himself. He hasn't had any time to get used to being without that stuff again.]_

_Not to mention what he said the other night after Kurochan left._

_[I thought you didn't want to think about that.]_

_I don't._

_[So we're going to have to cover BOTH our guys' butts.]_

Sakura glanced over at Naruto, nodded a little in agreement, then returned her attention to the forest.

* * *

"This is going to be a cakewalk," said Kankuro.

"Yeah, most of these genin are no threat at all," agreed Temari.

Gaara merely inclined his head ever so slightly.

"So, what do we do? Just go around looking for random genin, or do we go after any specific targets?" asked Kankuro.

"All who cross our path shall die," said Gaara as he settled into bloodthirsty mode.

"Well, if you could just rip the limbs off that pink haired puppet and not totally destroy it, I'd appreciate it," said Kankuro. "I'd really like the chance to see how the mechanisms work."

"I'm pretty sure she's actually got prosthetics," said Temari.

"Her head has an access panel," retorted Kankuro. "It's hidden under the hair but I could see the signs of it when I was looking her over."

"That was just before she blasted you, right?" asked Temari, smirk in place.

"Yeah," admitted Kankuro. "She'd have to... be..."

Temari glanced over at Kankuro when her brother stopped talking. He had an expression on his face that was only partly made hard to read by the makeup.

"...a whole body prosthetic," said Kankuro as his mind rebooted around the concept. "Chakra strings acting as a nervous system, like in a regular prosthetic, but with something like a spinal column? Do you have any idea what a first-class bi- trick that would be? I have got to find out who built her."

"Well, hopefully they'll be somewhere besides Konoha in another month," said Temari just before the bell rang and the gate opened.

* * *

Something skittered away through the underbrush.

"Elmarnian Squidbat? Why is there one of those here?" asked Sakura as the three of them came to a stop.

"How far did we go?" asked Sasuke, looking around them.

"We're just over two point four kilometers into the forest," said Sakura, looking around.

"'Elmarnian'?" asked Naruto. "You sure?"

"Positive," said Sakura, looking around. "I'm using one of the upgrades Winry installed - 'Sniper Scope' gives me telescopic vision but it also allows me to identify things in its database. So far I've spotted a blood worm, a squidbat, a razorhawk, and a tunbun."

"That's weird," said Naruto, bringing his hands together. "Wide Area Search!"

Sasuke glanced at the single ball of yellow before it went speeding off into the forest. "Only one?"

"If I had Mjolnir, I could use my device to sort out all the input," said Naruto, sitting down on the treebranch. "Otherwise I'm hearing and seeing everything through that. It's tricky to keep it all straight. Heck, it gives me a headache even when Mjolnir's sorting stuff out."

"Ah," said Sasuke, wondering again if HE could get something like that. "What's this about the weird critters?"

"Elmarn is a continent on the dragon homeworld," said Naruto.

"So the weird creatures are from your dragon friend?" asked Sasuke.

"Sparky couldn't and wouldn't do that," said Naruto, his eyes closed as he concentrated mainly on the input from his probe. "On the other hand, some of his family members might do something like that. In case they ever came here, I could see them putting a few snacks here ahead of time. His grandfather maybe."

"So these things aren't actually dangerous?" asked Sasuke.

"To a dragon? No. To a human, maybe..." Naruto frowned a little. "We're clear for a two mile radius unless they're hiding really well."

Sasuke watched as Naruto clapped his hands again, and once more sent a yellow ball zig-zagging out into the forest.

"Squidbats are tentacled ambush carnivores, but they don't attack anything much bigger than a cat," said Naruto. "Razorhawks are winged hunting carnivores, bloodworms can't eat anything much bigger than a squirrel, and a tunbun is an herbivore - but it's the most dangerous out of all of them."

"Why?" asked Sasuke.

"Tunbun could be a problem," answered Sakura. "I got a big warning sign when I spotted it. When they get nervous, they let out a lot of gas."

Sasuke stared at one of his companions and then the next. "You're kidding me."

"Nope, hallucinogenic flatulence," answered Sakura. "Fortunately, it wouldn't affect me."

"How nice," said Sasuke, his voice going flat.

"Something wrong?" asked Sakura.

"I just hope nobody we know bothers one," said Naruto. "I've counted four more tunbun."

* * *

"Troublesome," summed up Shikamaru, who'd noticed the foul little yellow-black striped rabbit-thing releasing a cloud of something. Silly him, he'd expected it just to smell foul and so he'd moved just enough that he was out of range.

"Sasuke-kun..." said Ino, snuggling happily against what she thought was her crush.

"This cheese tastes funny," complained Choji as he munched on Ino's ponytail. "It's hard to chew too!"

Shikamaru shook his head. However he was also keeping track of where the little beast went. If he used a shadow bind on an enemy and then got them to attack that thing, it could be useful.

* * *

"Hey, Mom, have you seen Grandpa? He's not in his lair."

"Oh, he mentioned doing something offplane. Something about snacks and finding some sort of 'mad scientist testing grounds' that looked handy."

"Grandpa was thinking with his stomach again?"

"You should respect your grandfather more... though that was the impression I got as well."

"Well, he was ready to eat my new friend Naruto at one point. That was kind of disrespectful right there."

"I'm sure he's forgotten all about that by now."

* * *

"Such pretty colors," said Gaara, laying on his back and contemplating the clouds.

"I have a lovely bunch of coconuts," sing-songed Temari.

"Pink-haired dolls," giggled Kankuro.

The tunbun's remains were revealed as the sand slithered away from it, something in the way the sand moving seeming not quite right. Even for Gaara's sand.

* * *

"Back to your cat-form I see," said the woman.

"Yes," said the cat, inclining her head. "I am Hanabi Hyuga, of the Hyuga clan of Konohagakure."

"Chifuyu Orimura," said the woman. "I'm one of the instructors at the local Academy. I'll be your escort until we reach Mid-Childa and hand you off to the research branch."

"I understand," said Hanabi, inclining her head again. "I understand that with the scans from Sakura Haruno and my own transformation, your people think they might understand what happened."

"That's their thought," replied Chifuyu, turning and leading the way through the battleship. "We have an additional stop to make as the Arthra was on a mission when we received Naruto's communication."

"I see," said the cat, finding herself having to scurry to keep up with the business-suit-clad woman. "What sort of mission is it?"

"Classified," said Chifuyu. "I do not know the details myself, but it will apparently not take long. We should be at Mid-Childa in two days at maximum."

* * *

He had a very distinguished name in the draconic language. The problem being that it was very long and hardly anyone used it.

Most of the people he associated with simply called him "Grandfather" in fact.

He was old, the oldest in his clan. He was also forgetful at times. He did remember though that his youngest grandchild (actually you'd have to stick a couple of 'great' terms in there to be accurate) was hanging around with some human hero-type.

So, as a good grandfather and clan head, he had to look out for the young spawnling. So he'd found what was quite clearly some sort of mad scientist's lab/dumping ground and made use of it.

Summons or not, dragons ate a lot. They then digested what they ate over a long period of time.

And if he fell asleep when he'd found a nice deep pool of water to drowse in, well, that was just a privledge of old age wasn't it? He'd simply used a shapeshifting ability so that he could fit within, remaining truly huge but not so much that he couldn't take a little nap after a job well done.

Something swam over his head and an eye blearily opened. A giant snake? Without even waking up the rest of the way, he moved his head just up and so and snapped the morsel up before returning to his snooze. Empty calories perhaps.

* * *

Orochimaru frowned as another of his giant snake allies abruptly vanished.

Sasuke Uchiha was around here somewhere, but the Forest Of Death had somehow become a bit more worthy of such a name.

He didn't frown at the loss of his sixth such summons, nor for any sort of sentimental reason. What brought that frown to his face was an indication that his web of information appeared to have some gaps in it.

* * *

"To glorify our muddy nation," said one of the ninja, brandishing an umbrella.

"To defeat rank genin with no perspiration," said another Kiri genin.

"To spit upon things like truth and love," added the first Kiri nin.

"You two KNOCK IT OFF. That motto's annoying as hell. Ahem. If you Leafies surrender your scroll, we might let you live," said the third genin.

Sasuke snorted. "Sakura?"

"Yes?" asked Sakura.

"I leave these losers to you," said Sasuke.

There was a sudden ratcheting noise as Sakura brought one arm up, braced it with her other hand, and the pointing arm's hand morphed.

"What the fu-" began the lead genin before unfurling his umbrella and bringing it to block.

"[Shotgun]" declared a voice similar to Sakura's but with a sort of mechanical tone to it.

A flare of light spread in a cone from Sakura's hand.

There was a brief silence as the smoke cleared, revealing a now-tattered umbrella before it folded back up to reveal the three Kiri genin.

"Was that supposed to intimidate us?" asked the lead genin with a sneer.

"No, that was supposed to set you up," said Sakura. "Cartridge Load."

_Ka-CHUNK!_

The mechanical Sakura voice sounded almost smug. "[Shotwave]"

"Needle Rain!" tried countering the Kiri ninja.

What seemed to be hundreds of energy bolts erupting from Sakura's arm went through the needles and slammed the Kiri genin backwards as it ripped up the top inch of topsoil in the area of effect. Also shredding the surface slightly of trees, leaves, rocks, and enemy genin.

Sasuke shook his head as he went through the defeated Kiri nin's equipment.

"It's another Heaven scroll," said Naruto.

"Let's keep it, and send a signal up for the proctors," said Sasuke. "We can use the spare scroll to negotiate with or trade."

"Fine," said Naruto. "I'm gonna go take a leak before I send out another Area Search and we try the next group."

"We ought to set up a password then," said Sasuke.

"I'll do a Wide Area Search when I get back," said Naruto, rolling his eyes. "Since there ain't gonna be a bunch of people who know how to do that - that can be our password."

"Hmmm," hmmmed Sasuke as Naruto went stalking off. "Unusual."

Sakura considered how much she should tell Sasuke.

"Losing his familiar and his hammer this close together making him irritable?" Sasuke asked casually.

"Yeah, something like that," said Sakura.

"And probably that 'fiancee' of his is running around in danger," continued Sasuke. "Maybe I'll cut him a little slack for that. Just a little."

Sakura smiled and held a hand up as if pinching a tiny amount.

"Yeah, about that much," said Sasuke before his eyes widened. "Look out!"

* * *

Kurochan/Hanabi watched the display.

On it, Naruto fought the one called Nanoha Takamichi.

She was observing, making mental notes, and trying to determine what she could of this TSAB, Mid-Childa, and these other operatives. She'd have to report to her father later after all.

She was also, it should be noted, vowing to tread VERY very carefully and inoffensively around Nanoha Takamichi. And since the data she'd already collected indicated that Nanoha was very friendly and the violent ones were the Wolkenritter especially one named Vita - she was coming to the conclusion that Vita was a short violent girl who gave short violent responses that usually involved terms like 'collateral damage' and 'friendly fire' and 'lowered property values.'

Elsewhere, Vita sneezed and then went around looking for someone who was speaking ill of her so that she could educate them about why that was NOT acceptable. With incidental property damage and frequent explosions.

It further appeared that this reputation developing caused Vita to go further out to try and remedy that spread, unfortunately with the same tactics. This had results that Hanabi Hyuga found awfully uncomfortable as they were similar to her own attempts at getting respect within her peer group.

Except that with Vita and her Graf Eisen device, the whole thing was prone to escalation that Hanabi had neither the capability or desire for.

She noted all this, and she also noted the battle between Nanoha and Naruto. Hanabi wouldn't admit it, but she'd found Naruto's various jutsu to be impressive and versatile and quite intriguing. Apparently he was not as powerful or able to multitask to the extent that Nanoha was.

As far as explaining any of this to her father later, she could honestly give an assessment of the military power and capabilities of these potential allies. Never mind that as a little girl of ninja upbringing she found the whole thing cool to sit back and watch with a nice saucer of milk.

No, best not to mention that part at all.

* * *

The impact had been enough to stun him, especially as he had been storing the Barrier Jacket uniform via Mjolnir - a decision he'd regretted the moment that wind attack had hit him. He'd started slowing himself when something had slammed into his head.

Now he was in the dark, moist, and having trouble breathing. As if he was...

"Oh crap," realized Naruto. "I've been swallowed again."

Naruto put his hand up and then back a little. "Photon Lancer!"

The resulting hole was sufficiently large he could leave, though he had to fly out because of the way the thing was thrashing. "Snakes. Bleah. Now I'm gonna need a freaking bath and I've got to spend a week in this forest? With no ramen? Ugh."

"Why am I talking to myself?" asked Naruto, shaking his head. "Flight... Why am I announcing my spells anyway?"

Darting up into the air, Naruto looked around for landmarks. Now, where would his team be? "Wide Area Search!"

After a few minutes, Naruto nodded and darted off into the foliage.

* * *

The wave of sand grabbed Kiba, slammed aside Hinata and Shino, and engulfed Akamaru.

"Mother doesn't want dog blood, but whatever works," said the redheaded psycho.

"W-w-we'll give you our scroll, j-just let us go," said Hinata as she got back up shakily.

"I think it'll be better to take it from your bloody mangled corpses," said Gaara, sending a wave of sand out to engulf the two remaining members of Team 8.

"BLITZ RUSH!"

Gaara blinked. "Was that a shunshin?"

"Close I suppose," said Naruto lowering Hinata and Shino to the ground a few yards away. "Hinata, Shino. Get out of here."

"I-I can't leave you," protested Hinata.

"PHOTON LANCER!" called out Naruto as the sand moved towards him and his two rescuees.

The arrows of lightning sped towards the sand, then made ninety degree turns up and over, before adjusting course and speeding off towards Gaara.

Gaara blinked, not having expected that.

"GAARA!" yelled Temari as suddenly her psychotic younger brother was lost in a smoke cloud.

There was a startled canine yelp from within the smoke.

"Uhm," said Kankuro as the drifting smoke actually increased.

"Fat chance of THAT working," declared Temari as she unlimbered her fan and used it to disperse the smoke quickly.

Kankuro blinked. There was Gaara, UNCONSCIOUS?

"Oh crap," said Temari, realizing the same thing. "Gaara's knocked out. The Shukaku!"

"...isn't coming out," said Kankuro after immediate devastation was apparently not forthcoming.

"I hate that kid," said Gaara after a moment.

"Gaara, you're okay!" said Temari after a few moments.

"He hit me with a Lightning attack followed by some movement restriction jutsu," said Gaara, still lying on his back.

"And while he was under cover of the smoke, he took the dog-lover and the dog, and got the rest of that team of weaklings out," noted Temari.

"So that's the guy with the pink-haired doll on his team," said Kankuro. "I didn't recognize him at first without his hammer."

"Yeah," said Temari.

"I shall face him in the third part of the test, and I will destroy him then," said Gaara as he got to his feet.

* * *

The Grass genin made a little tittering laugh as he walked towards them. "So, at last I have found you. Sasuke-kun."

"Oh god, it's a fanBOY," said Sasuke.

"[Sniper Scope]" said Sakura. "Oh hell... Sasuke MOVE!"

"Wha?" asked Sasuke as the foreign nin stopped.

"Power level of at least B Class, that's not a genin," said Sakura. "I'm not sure how to interpret all this info that's getting displayed but I've got at least three warning flags going off."

"Oh?" asked the stopped Grass-nin. "Interesting. You're some sort of Sensor type?"

"What... dang," said Sakura, in her typical 'shooter' stance with her legs apart, one hand bracing the other arm, and her fist pointed squarely at the foreign nin. "Some of the readings are... that's a clone body. Reading twelve OTHER clone bodies?"

"As annoying as Naruto and his lightning-clones then," said Sasuke.

"Intriguing as you are, child, I'm here for Sasuke," said the Grass-nin. "Stay out of the way and I won't need to kill you."

"[Load Cartridge]" said a slightly different voice. _kachunk kachunk_

The Grass-nin raised an eyebrow as one of Sakura's hands broke apart and then reformed into a different shape. "Interesting. So you're a living puppet like Sasori?"

"[Dakka]" replied the pink-haired girl.

Inner Sakura had used two cartridges to charge up before giving the technique chosen for this. To the dominant Sakura, this came up as a menu.

[Shotgun] was a cone-shaped low-penetration attack. [Shotwave] was the next level up.  
[Armorpierce] was a single high-accuracy shot that would penetrate some armor and shields.  
[Grenade] launched a sphere of energy which would explode at the targetted distance.  
[Barrier Break] was a Dispel type attack to bring down a target's shields or compromise other energy fields.  
[Ring Bind] was essentially the same as Naruto's attack, forming a ring of magical energy to bind the opponent in place.  
[Dakka] was something altogether different. Accuracy was not as important as putting lots of shots out there.

Each energy bolt was about the size of a marble, had limited penetration, and did a small amount of damage. The thing about it was, that there was a LOT of it going out there. It was also called 'Bullet Spam' by some.

Orochimaru moved to the side as the bolts began flying, only to find that it was almost a solid stream of energy bolts and that Sakura was still using [Sniper Scope] - and therefore tracking him.

Which really intrigued him actually. Perhaps the pink-haired puppet-girl was worth taking apart to find out how she worked. Orochimaru quickly went through some seals and vomitted out a purple fog.

"Poison won't work on me," noted Sakura, still tracking the not-genin that was attacking them.

"Hmmm, and you can apparently track me despite the cloud," noted the apparent Grass-nin. "Normal vision would be rendered useless by this."

Sakura shut off [Dakka] as soon as she'd cut the clone confronting her in half. The little energy bullets didn't do much damage by themselves, but put enough on a target and they could accumulate.

"[Ring Bind]," suggested Inner Sakura.

"Do it," agreed Sakura.

Rings of energy shot out to capture the opponent, who blurred and dodged and then substituted himself for another clone which melted as soon as it was caught.

Sakura brought her arm up, shifting for another attack, when her target abruptly vanished entirely. "Damn!"

A sword lengthening to absurd lengths shot from the trees and stabbed into her elbow joint and sliced through a section of it.

"Given time, child, you might actually be worthy of fighting me," said the Grass-nin. "Now let's see how you deal with this..."

Suddenly the world went black and silent.

"Genjutsu?" realized Sakura.

[Dispel]

The world flickered back around her, just in time for her to see the Grass-nin slash at her neck.

* * *

"We're away from them," said Naruto. "You guys okay?"

Shino merely nodded while Hinata stammered a yes and then ducked her head.

"You... saved us?" asked Kiba, trying to reconcile the blonde idiot he'd known in the Academy with the guy who'd managed to sneak them away from certain death.

"Wide Area Search," said Naruto, slapping his hands together and sending off two spheres of yellow light. "I got separated from my team when I spotted you guys. Hinata, can you look for them?"

"Right," said Hinata, going through handseals rapidly. "Byakugan!"

"Great, without Mjolnir I'm having trouble using Wide Area Search," said Naruto, closing his eyes to better concentrate on the images he was getting.

"'Mjolnir'?" Kiba asked Shino.

Shino lifted his shoulders slightly in reply.

"Found them," said Hinata after a couple of minutes. "They're in trouble!"

* * *

Naruto sped along in Hinata's wake, aware that Kiba and Shino were following him and that he was the subject of discussion. Over the wind of their passage and the occasional noise from the Forest, he wasn't sure what they were saying though.

"Lightning Whip!"

Besides, he had to deal with the occasional predator that seemed to find genin an appetizing menu option.

"Photon Lancer! Three spheres!"

Yep, this was annoying. What did Hayate say this was called again? Aggro? Yeah, Hayate was right about this. Drawing aggro was a PAIN.

* * *

"Now, Sasuke, you've been quite a disappointment but-" Orochimaru stopped walking towards Sasuke and frowned. Then he lifted up one leg and shook it repeatedly. Finally he looked down at his foot. "You are getting quite annoying."

"Mffff mrffff mffff!" protested Sakura, her mouth clamped down on Orochimaru's ankle.

"What was that?" asked Orochimaru.

Sakura spit out the leg as she was apparently not doing any damage. Maybe she ought to get Winry to put in a mouth cannon. "I'm not beaten yet!"

Orochimaru stopped, looking down at Sakura and then over at her headless body. Then back at Sakura's head as he stepped away from it. "Okay. Sasuke is unimpressive and the doll-girl is creeping me out. This is not going at all as envisaged."

Sasuke jabbed his own leg with a kunai.

"So you're just now getting past my killing intent?" asked Orochimaru. "Oh bother all this, I'll just take your eyes. No point in them going to waste on someone like you."

"I'd like to see you try," growled Sasuke as he charged forward with kunai drawn.

* * *

"Blood and... unfamiliar scents up ahead," reported Kiba.

Hinata stopped abruptly and held out one hand, pointing towards where the remainder of Team 7 was. Her bracelet glowed briefly and then unfolded, becoming a bow that strung itself.

Naruto sped past her a moment later, forming a ball of lightning in one hand. Kiba and Akamaru passed her a second later, with Shino taking a position nearby and sending a cloud of insects out.

"Oh?" said Orochimaru as he found himself under attack again. "Reinforcements?"

"Ring Bind!" tried Naruto, whipping his hand towards the obvious enemy and throwing a set of energy discs towards him.

"Gatsuga!" tried Kiba and Akamaru.

Said enemy flicked out through a substitution and then deflected the two Inuzuka with a wind jutsu. "Much as I'd like to play with you, I've got to put these away safely. And so adieAKKK!"

"What happened?" asked Kiba as he shook his head and stood back up.

"Hinata shot him with a chakra arrow," said Naruto. "Shut down whatever jutsu he was trying to cast as a farewell present."

"Excuse me?"

Kiba looked down at the voice. When he realized it was a severed head he blinked a couple of times.

"Do you think you can put me back together? If you've got a moment," said Sakura, sarcasm sounding fairly heavy in the latter part of that statement.

Kiba screamed.

Naruto looked curiously at Kiba as Hinata and Shino rejoined them.

"Uhm, Sakura?" asked Hinata.

"My hair's a mess isn't it?" asked Sakura.

"Uhm, y-y-yes?" sort-of agreed Hinata.

"Let me cast a healing spell on Sasuke to keep him from bleeding to death and I'll be with you in a minute," said Naruto.

"Uhm, I was going to say something about your team not going to pieces without you here," said Kiba, still twitching a little. "But man, I had no idea."

"It appears your team is unable to continue the exam," said Shino. "One of your team is in need of medical attention, and the other has been... dismantled."

"Okay," admitted Sakura after a brief pause. "I'll admit I've been in better situations."

* * *

NEXT EP: we get through the second test and finally hit the preliminary round.

Oh, and Team 7 gets better.


	13. Chapter 13:Chunin Exam, elimination

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 13: Chunin Exam, elimination round

* * *

"Well, we're here. Now what?"

"Toss the scrolls down."

_POFFF!_

"Well, you made it in..." Iruka's voice trailed off as the smoke from his summoning dispersed and what he was seeing penetrated. "Wh-what? What happened to you?"

He was looking at a bandaged and apparently unconscious Sasuke who'd been laid down on the ground. Sakura was standing there, with one of her arms sticking up out of her backpack, and her head was underneath the other arm. Naruto looked a little worse for wear as well, but he'd been obviously in serious combat as well.

Naruto looked at his own team, back to Iruka, and visibly considered. "It's complicated."

"Well, as your team can't go any further, I'm afraid you'll be disqualified from the remainder of the Exam," said Iruka. "I'm sorry."

"Who says we can't continue?" asked Sakura.

"Sakura, you're CARRYING your head and you're missing an arm," pointed out Iruka.

"My arm's not missing, it's right here," protested Sakura. "This is just a flesh wound!"

"Your head is no longer connected to your neck," counter-protested Iruka. "I'd say that qualifies as a bit more than a 'flesh wound.'"

"Really," insisted Sakura. "I'm fine."

"Most people, having their head cut off, would certainly qualify as less talkative," admitted Iruka. "They'd simply die."

"I'm not dead," insisted Sakura.

"She says she's not dead. Certainly the ability to argue the point would indicate a distinct lack of 'deadness'," argued Naruto.

"Are you sure she's not going to fall over dead in a moment?" asked Iruka, still quite concerned.

"Quite sure, I feel fine," insisted Sakura, shifting and almost dropping her head. "Just need a little repair work."

"What about Sasuke?" asked Iruka, pointedly looking at where Sasuke Uchiha was stretched out.

"He needs medical attention," admitted Naruto. "Really, can we just put aside the whole issue for the moment?"

* * *

"AGH!" exclaimed Kronk as he ran away from a twenty-foot-long bear, carrying Yzma piggyback.

"AIEE!" exclaimed Kronk as he ran away from a swarm of giant leeches which completely covered the bear and reached out for him.

"AIEEGAAA!" yelled Kronk AND Yzma as massive teeth crunched behind them, taking both bear and leech-swarm in a single bite.

Kronk eventually ended up gasping and wheezing, pale and wide-eyed, as he tried to find his breath.

"When they call this place the 'Forest Of Death' - they aren't exaggerating are they?" asked Yzma, still shaking.

"I think we're mffff?" asked Kronk.

Yzma slowly withdrew the hand she'd covered Kronk's mouth with. "Kronk. Don't tempt fate any more than she already is."

"I don't think Fate even knows we're alive," protested Kronk.

"We have to be stealthy," offered Yzma.

"Riiiight," said Kronk, nodding and winking. "Stealthy. Unseen. Unnoticed. A shadow in the darkness. Like ninja or something. Well, not these ninja cause they don't seem to have that silence thing down too well."

"I noticed that too," admitted Yzma, who then shrugged.

"Hold it!" said one of three individuals who dropped down. "Give us your scroll or die!"

"Uhm, I don't think they're genin," offered one of the others. "He's too old, and... well, she's scary enough to be a ninja, but she has to be half past ancient."

"Is she alive, or is she a mummy?" asked the third genin.

"I'm not a mummy, I've never even been married," protested Yzma.

"Well, give us a scroll anyway, or else!" said the first genin.

"Oh bother," said Yzma, reaching into a sleeve and pulling a bottle out. "Have this instead."

The three genin watched curiously as the woman threw the bottle down at their feet. "Liquid smoke bomb? That won't work."

Yzma smirked as the smoke gradually cleared, then frowned. "Kronk. Why are they LLAMAS?"

"I specifically told that potion seller no llamas," said Kronk. "Though I think technically they're alpaca."

"Well, let's go," said Yzma.

"Right," said Kronk.

"KAI!" tried a pure white camelid. "KAI! KAI DAMNIT!"

"Well, THIS certainly sucks," said one of the other alpaca.

"Guys? I've been turned into some fuzzy herbivore, can we just go home?" asked the third alpaca.

* * *

"Why did you rescue me?" asked Sasuke. "Do you know what that bastard did to me?"

"Poisoned you, broke three ribs, stabbed you with a kunai in your right leg and then broke it, gave you a concussion, dislocated both your shoulders, and then took your eyes like some kind of carnival prize," said Naruto as he sat down next to the bed.

Sasuke was silent for a moment, deciding not to correct Naruto regarding the kunai stabbing.

"Sakura's being fixed up," said Naruto. "So right now, all three of us passed the second part - but you're gonna fail unless you do something."

"Oh, and you've got a solution for that?" demanded Sasuke.

"No, you do," said Naruto. "I checked your pack. You've still got the elixir I gave you."

"The..." Sasuke stiffened, then slumped.

"You forgot about that?" asked Naruto, incredulous.

"I forgot about that," admitted Sasuke. He was silent for a couple of minutes, but no longer brooding. This was a much more thoughtful silence.

"Yeah, you need to decide," said Naruto. "You'll heal normally but it'll take some time, and you'll be out of the exam. Both me and Sakura can continue on though. Or you can take that. Draconic Elixir will heal your body, but it also dispels anything unnatural about you - so I don't know if it'll restore your Sharingan or try to 'cure' it."

"It's not like I've got any other choices," said Sasuke.

"No, I've overheard 'em," said Naruto. "If you heal normally they can transplant regular eyes into your head. There's some argument though. One of the docs thinks someone must'a harvested the Uchiha clan eyes, but it's all S-Class secrets. He wants to try and get the Hokage to step in and get those eyes so you can be restored. The other doctors wanna just set you up with normal eyes. Either case, it's gonna be a couple of months."

"How'd you hear about this, they haven't... your 'Wide Area Search'?" asked Sasuke.

"After the first part of the test, I been trying to work on a version that isn't real obvious," said Naruto, shrugging despite Sasuke not being able to see it.

"Why are you doing this..." not quite asked Sasuke, his bandaged head moving as if to look in Naruto's direction.

Naruto was silent this time, taking a couple of minutes. "When I was in Mid-Childa I met... friends. Rivals. Comrades. Nakama - if you prefer. Thing is... you wouldn't acknowledge me, back then."

Sasuke grunted, not commenting and also not remembering what Naruto was talking about.

"I wanted you to acknowledge me," said Naruto, the tone of his voice indicating that he was mostly thinking out loud and not addressing Sasuke directly himself. "You know. In a way I regarded you as I thought a brother must be like. Kind of rivals but friendly too..."

"You are NOT my brother," stated Sasuke firmly.

Naruto sighed. "Well, like it or not. That's how I feel. You're also my team-mate and I guess you're my rival or something. So I can't have my rival left too far behind me, can I?"

"'Rival'," tried out Sasuke, considering what he'd seen of Naruto. Could he accept a 'rival' that could throw lightning and thunder around like that? Actually, that didn't sound too bad. Sasuke finally nodded. 'Rival' was tolerable.

"So anyway, something to think about. Just don't take too long before you decide or they'll probably decide for you," said Naruto, getting up.

"Oh, I've already decided," said Sasuke.

"That fast?" asked Naruto.

"Not everyone needs as long as YOU do to think things through," said Sasuke.

"Whatever," said Naruto. "What was your decision?"

* * *

"This is all highly improper!"

"Ne ne, Doc. It's his choice," said Kakashi.

Sasuke felt the cool glass vial pressed into his hands and grasped it. He knew from memory that it was a dark blue in color, with the stopper made of the same material as the vial. He also knew, having pulled it out and looked at it one night on the way back from Wave, that the liquid inside had a faint glow that wasn't visible during the day.

"Second thoughts?" asked Naruto from nearby and to his left.

Sasuke grimaced and opened the vial, feeling the wax seal break away as he did so. He couldn't help but sniff it though. "Smells like fresh cut grass."

"At least let us run a few tests on this substance to be sure it isn't poisonous."

Naruto grumbled something under his breath.

Sasuke decided to worry later about why some stranger they hadn't met as far as he knew would think that Naruto would poison him. He slugged the fluid down in one shot, then licked his lips. "Tastes horrible."

It started at stomach level, a feeling of prickly warmth that began spreading. He not only felt the ribs click together again, he heard them as each break was realigned and wove itself together as the warmth passed by.

He heard the doctor exclaim as the warmth passed his collarbone and spread down his arms and torso. He heard the noise as the shoulders repaired much as the ribs had. Then the warmth reached his leg and that added a meaty thunk to the tally.

His eyes itched suddenly, fiercely, and it was all he could do to avoid reaching for the bandages and tearing them off. The heat seemed to build up even further and linger there.

After what seemed to be minutes, the sensations faded.

"That was impossible. Even Tsunade wouldn't be able to do that so quickly."

"Draconic Elixir is a very rare item," said Naruto's voice. "It cures poisons, curses, diseases, parasitic infestations - just about anything short of death."

"Kakashi Hatake, is the Kyubi telling -"

"Doctor," interrupted Kakashi. "Say one thing more on that subject and I'll let my contacts in ANBU know what you just said."

"B-but... I'll just take this for examination," said the doctor.

"I don't think so," said Sasuke, tightening his grip on the bottle. He didn't know what was going on, or why this doctor had just called Naruto "Kyubi" - but he could tell something major was going on. "Someone want to undo the bandages around my eyes?"

From the smell of ramen, it was Naruto who had moved closer to him and was now unwinding the bandages.

From darkness, bit by bit, the world grew lighter. Sasuke closed his eyes for the last bit of unwinding, then opened them and watched the world unfuzz and to come into clear focus.

"It appears to have been a success," said Kakashi, leaning against a wall and then turning to eye an older man that Sasuke figured had to be the doctor.

Sasuke took the chance, closed his eyes, channelled chakra to them, and then opened them again.

"Three tomoe?" asked Kakashi, his voice indicating mild surprise. "You've upgraded."

Sasuke smirked.

The doctor was now eyeing the vial in Sasuke's hands and glancing nervously at Kakashi. "So the Kyubi..."

Sasuke could clearly see the movement with his Sharingan as Kakashi knocked the doctor out with a single blow.

"Kyubi?" asked Sasuke, his eyes going to the single remaining person in the room. "Why is he calling Naruto 'Kyubi'?"

"Hate makes some people stupid," said Kakashi. "Now, I think this fine medical practitioner needs to be examined."

After Kakashi left with the unconscious doctor, Sasuke watched Naruto fidget for a few moments before getting up from the bed.

"You feel okay?" asked Naruto.

"Hmph. I feel like I could run laps around the village," said Sasuke. "This will cost you, you know. When we face each other in the finals, I'm not going to go easy on you."

"Oh?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke's grin was wolfish. "I won't tolerate anything but going full out against my rival."

Naruto grinned back. "That's the way I'd like it."

* * *

"Uhm, what are-" Kotetsu shut his mouth as all three heads swiveled towards him.

"You're a proctor right? Our team quits," said the first creature.

"Yeah, we signed up for life and death combat and all, but really c'mon," said the second creature.

"Can we just quit and go home?" asked the third. "This day really sucks!"

"Uhm," said Kotetsu, looking at the other three proctors for any clue as to how to handle this situation.

"Look, nobody told us we'd get turned into furry herbivore whatever-the-hell we are," said the first furry herbivore.

"Uhm, names?" asked Kotetsu.

"Tanzou," said the second beast.

"Shibire," said the first beast.

"Minoji," said the third beast.

"Uhm, okay, you three fail I guess," said Kotetsu, finding there WERE those names on the sheet.

Watching the three walk off, Kotetsu noticed one of the other proctors trying various dispels.

"Uhm, I think getting turned into strange creatures is a first," offered Tonbo Tobitake finally.

* * *

"Okay," said one of the doctors. "We have enough scans for now, we just have to go over the details and analyze them out."

"So what do you want me to do?" asked Hanabi.

"Not a thing," said the doctor, handing her a small plastic card. "We'll send word by your room when we're ready for the next step."

"I see," said Hanabi.

"Since we're also comparing data taken from Sakura Haruno, this might take a couple of days," said the doctor. "You're staying with some students at the academy?"

"I'm sharing a room with Cecilia Alcott, who is also a non-native to Mid-Childa," said Hanabi.

* * *

Sasuke was aware of the odd looks he was getting.

Sakura was getting a few odd looks too.

Naruto wasn't used to being ignored quite like this, which was because he was the "normal one" in this case.

The Sandaime was going on about how the battles in the Chunin Exam were a microcosm and reflection of how fights between ninja used to be. He went on further on how the whole thing was also advertising for the villages in order to get jobs.

Never mind that ninja did other work besides the straight-up combat roles. There were ninja accountants, ninja engineers, medic ninja, ninja teachers, and so on. It was the combat teams that drew the money usually.

At which point the information about preliminary matches was brought up and that despite some of them had just come limping in within the past few hours - they'd have to fight again sank in.

"Well, that lets me out," said that Kabuto guy from earlier.

Naruto was only paying partial attention to that. He was getting some seriously bad feelings from something else that was going on but he couldn't figure out where or who.

* * *

_Interesting,_ thought Orochimaru to himself. _When I left Sasuke, he was nearly dead. Now he's looking as if we'd never met. He even has a set of new eyes._

His eyes trailed over the genin. The doll-girl had also been rebuilt. _Well, that's to be expected. Probably just had to swap out a few parts. It's too bad I can't drop a note to Sasori, he'd be fascinated._

Orochimaru didn't do anything too obvious like stare, but allowed his gaze to pass over the third member of Sasuke's team. _So, this 'dead last' failure - he was easily dealt with by a summoned snake except that he did finally show up. Could he have some interesting talents as well? Oh ho. That's interesting, he's looking around him as if he's sensed my scrutiny? He's not a sensor type though, he's not extending any particular sense so much as he's looking for visual cues._

The board started flashing as the names went into their electronic hat. _Hopefully they'll put on a good show._

The disguised Orochimaru cocked an eyebrow at the fight on the display.

[Zaku Abumi Vs Temari]

* * *

"Naruto!" said the blonde, holding up a hand and waving as the genin not involved in the fight filed up the stairs.

"Eh?" asked Naruto, hurrying over. "Something wrong? There a case involving this dimension?"

"No," said Fate, sitting back down. "I'm attending this and the third part of the exams as an observer."

"Ah, I see," said Naruto.

"Who's this?" asked Sasuke, following Naruto.

"Fate Testarossa, this is my team," said Naruto. "Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno."

"Pleased to meet you," said Fate as she bowed.

"They're starting the fight," noted Sasuke, turning the group's attention to that.

* * *

Temari looked over this challenger with obvious disdain.

"Heh, you want to surrender, girl, and spare yourself a messy death?" asked Zaku with a sneer. "Against me, you have no chance."

"Funny, that was my line," said Temari. "There are three moons on my fan. If you see the third one, it'll be the last thing you see."

"Oh very funny," said Zaku. "I'm hungry, Sand Witch, and you're going to get eaten alive."

"Sorry, you're not my type," said Temari. "So stop coming on to me. Are the girls of your village so ugly you're going outside it for dates?"

"Kill her!" called out Kin Tsuchi from the stands. "Tear her head off!"

"Are you two going to snipe at each other verbally some more, or can we get on with the match?" asked Hayate Gekko.

"Anytime," said Temari, tapping her massive fan against the ground and smirking at her opponent.

"Time for you to go down," said Zaku.

"Would you knock it off with the lame pick-up lines?" asked Temari. "I only like SMART guys."

* * *

"Uh oh," said Shikamaru, sitting upright.

"I thought you were taking a nap," said Choji.

"I just suddenly got this horrible chill," said Shikamaru, shuddering.

"Ah," said Choji. "I hope it isn't catching."

* * *

"So is this normal for ninja fights?" asked Fate from her seat with Team 7.

"What is?" asked Naruto.

"The way that guy is flirting with that girl," explained Fate. "Is it normal for ninja to prove each other worthy of dating by fighting?"

"No," said Naruto, looking thoughtful. "At least, I don't think so."

Sakura looked over at Sasuke, wondering if that was what she needed to do to get Sasuke to take her seriously.

Sasuke decided the whole conversation was troublesome and concentrated on watching the fight, his Sharingan active.

He DID notice when Hinata left her team to come sit next to Fate, but mostly his attention was on the fight.

* * *

"Decapitating Airwaves!" called out Zaku, throwing both hands forward and activating the mechanisms in both arms.

Temari brought her fan up and blocked it, looking a little surprised. "Huh. A Wind-chakra based attack but it seems a little odd."

Zaku gritted his teeth and set his feet more firmly. "Yeah? Let me demonstrate its full power! Extreme Decapitating Airwaves!"

Temari just raised an eyebrow as she continued to block. "It's getting kinda boring. Know any other moves?"

* * *

"Excuse me," said Tenten, as she sat next to Hinata who was now sitting next to Fate.

"That's interesting," said Sasuke. "She's hardened the air between them."

"Is that what that is," said Sakura softly. "My 'Sniper Scope' is telling me that there's something there, but says it's a barrier technique."

"'Hardened' air?" asked Tenten.

"Yes, it's deflecting the force of the attacks off to the side," noted Sasuke. "I don't think I can duplicate his attack OR her defense though. He's got mechanisms in his arms, and that fan of hers is some sort of tool channelling her technique."

"So, that fan might be something like an Intelligent Device?" asked Fate, looking it over more closely.

[Primitive] assessed Bardiche despite being in the form of a little gold triangle.

Tenten looked over Temari speculatively. "A barrier of air. Hmmm."

* * *

Temari just waited through several of the Sound ninja's attacks before flipping her fan open. "Boring. Let me show you a REAL Wind attack. Sickle Weasel Technique!"

The wind picked up Zaku and slammed him into the ceiling, cutting him up in the process.

When he finally slammed into the ground, he stayed there.

Hayate gestured. "Zaku Abumi is unable to proceed. Winner: Temari of the Sand Village."

As soon as the Sound-nin was hauled off by two medic-nin using a stretcher, the board began flashing through choices again.

This time it was "Yoroi Akado Versus Shino Aburame" that was listed.

* * *

"Yoroi Akado versus Shino Aburame," said Hayate Gekko. "Both contestants please take your places."

"So, Naruto," said Fate, biting her bottom lip.

"Yes?" asked Naruto.

"Errr," said Fate, deciding she couldn't talk about it after all. What else could she talk about?

"What is it, Fate-chan?" asked Naruto innocently, turning more attention towards his friend.

"Errr, you know that they're going repairing Mjolnir, right?" asked Fate, seizing on a topic. "Well, they're going to be able to repair the other element arrays."

Naruto's eyes widened. "I'll be able to use the other elements? That's cool!"

"Other elements?" asked Sakura. "Naruto's only used lightning-element."

"Mjolnir's primary element is lightning," said Fate. "Naruto's primary element is wind. The first time he tried to use wind element with Mjolnir, it didn't go well. He hasn't been able to use water or wind since then using Mjolnir or it would get further damaged."

"Oh?" asked Sasuke, curious but deciding not to comment further at the moment.

"Ah, they're starting," said Naruto, putting the possibilities to the side as he considered the match below.

* * *

"You had some bad luck facing MY style, Aburame! I know all about your bugs!" said Yoroi, crouched down with his arms spread. "You have no chance against me."

"Oh?" asked Shino, not even taking his hands out of his pockets as he simply stood there.

Yoroi threw a few kunai then darted to the side, threw more kunai, then dashed towards Shino.

Shino just stood there, apparently unimpressed, just leaning out of the way enough that the kunai passed by.

"Got you," said Yoroi, latching onto the mostly-motionless genin. "Now I'll just suck out all your chakra and your bugs will be helpless! My supreme ace-in-the-hole, the kekkei genkai of chakra absorbtion."

_POOM!_ went the fake Shino, turning into a mass of bugs which then swarmed over Yoroi.

Shino cleared his throat, bringing attention to where he was clinging to the ceiling and watching the fight from above. "Your ace-in-the-hole appears to have been somewhat less effective than you desired. I'd caution you against siphoning chakra from the swarm assaulting you, as that might cause them to start eating flesh instead."

"You can't fool me... AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Moron," said a little less than half the audience.

"Yoroi Akado cannot continue, Shino Aburame is the winner," said Hayate. "Can you withdraw your bugs now? That's kind of disturbing."

"Of course," said Shino, dropping to the sands. Without further signal that could be seen, the insect swarm started streaming off Yoroi and back to Shino.

* * *

"He has... bugs living in him?" asked Fate.

"Uhm, yeah, I guess," said Naruto.

Sasuke hmmmed, thinking that the bug-user might be quite formidable. Certainly the Sharingan wouldn't be able to duplicate any of his moves.

Hinata's sharp breath brought everyone's attention to the board.

"Neji Hyuga Vs Hinata Hyuga," said the display.

* * *

Neji watched his cousin make her way down the stairs. He shifted slightly, his eyes not missing the small crowd she'd come from. He wasn't familiar with the girl who had the black ribbons in her hair, nor could he see a headband. As these were the preliminaries that left some foreign nin, possibly one so unskilled that she'd lost that badge of ninja status.

Weaklings.

"So, all the failures have banded together," said Neji.

"Say you aren't including ME in that assessment," said Tenten, standing up and producing a double handful of kunai.

"If you were to fight me, you most certainly would fail," stated Neji.

"Tenten," said Hayate. "If anyone interferes with this match it will be an automatic disqualification of both the interferer and the opponent of the target."

"In which case, you would most assuredly fail," pointed out Neji, before turning his attention back to Hinata. He'd soothe Tenten's feathers later, as she understood using psychological tactics against one's enemies. It was just that she was considerably more fond of using rather more direct methods.

"Begin," said Hayate.

"These eyes of mine have seen it all," stated Neji, going ahead with Plan A - make her withdraw. "Fate has declared it - that you were born a loser!"

"What?" yelled the blonde girl.

"Fate declared you weak and unfit to be a member of the main branch of the Hyuga clan," continued Neji. "You have been an embarassment and failure to your clan since birth. Yet here you are - too weak and too afraid to do anything that might hinder your team. Unable to stand up even to the members of your own team when you know you are too weak to take this exam!"

"I've said nothing of the kind!" yelled the blonde girl in the stands. "I like Hinata! She's a nice girl!"

"Yes," said Neji, sneering. "A nice girl. What has 'nice' have to do with being a ninja?"

"Hey! You can be nice and be a ninja!" protested Naruto. "We ain't from Mizugakure or some place where ya gotta be a psychopath or like killing."

"Nice has nothing to do with being a ninja," said Neji, sensing other members of the audience tending to agree with the knucklehead. He began directing Killing Intent towards his opponent. "You must have a hardened heart to do the work we have to do. Hinata is too weak, too soft, to be a ninja. She should not only give up now, but she should give up being a ninja! Weakness such as hers is only a liability to all those around her on the field of battle!"

Hinata took a step back, looking nervous.

"I only suggest that because it is pointless to defeat one as weak and soft as yourself," said Neji, folding his arms in front of him to look more dismissive of his opponent. "We are all born with a certain degree of innate talent and limits we will never be able to surpass. If you must blame someone for your failed life and weakness, blame fate."

"Proctor? Would it hurt Hinata's chances if I hit him with a Photon Lancer?" asked the blonde girl.

"As that would be interfering with the match, yes," answered Hayate. "Are you two going to start fighting soon or continue to monologue?"

"If she shows any intelligence, she will withdraw," stated Neji, speaking over whatever Hinata had been trying to say. "As she is of the main branch, I would rather not take the chances of killing her - which may very well be the outcome of this battle."

"I- I-" said Hinata.

Neji shook his head, thinking that all he needed was a little more push. "We cannot overcome what we are, and thus you will ever remain weak."

"HEY!" yelled Naruto. "Don't go making rules like that! She can be whatever she wants to be! I believe in her!"

"Then you believe in foolishness," said Neji, turning his attention back to Hinata. The trembling had quieted, and her stance was more firm. Oh well, Plan B it was.

"Hinata! If he's stronger than you in Jyuken, use something else!" yelled Naruto.

"She knows nothing else," said Neji, though with a moment of doubt. His Byakugan could see through any illusion, so learning genjutsu from her sensei would not avail her. What else could she have that would avail her?

_klik-klakatak!_

A bracelet that turned into a bow? Which then strung itself with a line of white light?

"Byakugan!" announced both Hyuga as they activated blood limits.

Neji frowned. "You're so weak at the family style and skills that you're relying on a toy?"

Hinata drew the bow back, a spectral arrow forming in place.

Neji frowned more severely as he saw the way the chakra formed the arrow. Hinata had a bow that fired arrows of chakra? That was... interesting. Ineffective against him, however. At this range he could read the muscular twitches. He'd know where she was aiming before she did, know the moment of release before she actually fired. No matter how fast the missile, if he knew both of those he could dodge it.

"Hankyu! Burst!"

Neji winced as the bow fired a SHOWER of missiles at him. He whirled and blocked, managing to avoid being skewered by seven of the projectiles.

The three sticking out of him provided ample indication that he needed to master the Kaiten technique. From the numbness on two of the strikes, she'd managed to hit tenketsu.

"I-I hit?" said Hinata, her voice showing wonder.

Neji blurred into motion. He hadn't wanted to go full out for the express purpose of not giving anything away to potential enemies when the real battles occurred - however it appeared that Hinata was going to have to be taken seriously.

* * *

"Uh oh," said Tenten.

"She got a good hit, so why is she just standing there?" asked Naruto.

"As I understand it," said an unfamiliar voice, causing two genin and one visitor to jump from the unexpected proximity, "Neji has always been a genius of the clan's skills with the Byakugan and Jyuuken. Hinata, on the other hand, is merely competent but has no special skill in the hand-to-hand combat portion of those skills."

"Guy-sensei? Can you NOT freak out the visitors?" asked Tenten.

"So... she's so used to him being an awesome fighter the thought she could actually hit him took her by surprise?" asked Fate.

"Exactly," said Guy. "If I had to hazard a guess, she was anticipating only making a good showing of it."

"That guy," growled Naruto as Neji was quite obviously making a point of beating Hinata into the ground.

"Due to the relationship between the Branch and Main Hyuga families, I cautioned Neji not to pursue any vengeance he might feel inclined to deal out in this venue," said Guy, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I heard that," said Tenten. "Hatred built up for a decade isn't easy to put aside."

Sasuke frowned as he watched the beating occur. "No resemblence."

"Eh?" asked Naruto, glancing at his team-mate.

"Nothing," said Sasuke.

"She's getting back up," said Sakura. "Dang! That's going to hurt."

Naruto turned back to see Neji with one foot atop Hinata's head, stomping down repeatedly. Naruto started coming out of his seat, only to be stopped by Guy putting one hand down on his shoulder. "What?"

"Do not weaken the showing she has made," said Guy. "Look at her. Beaten, bloodied, but still trying to continue. No, she was overmatched - but few here can say that her spirit is weak."

"Hinata Hyuga is unable to fight, winner - Neji Hyuga," announced Hayate.

"I - I am still able to fight," protested Hinata as she struggled to rise.

"I've hit most of your tenketsu and your trick with that bow weapon depleted your chakra reserves by nearly sixty percent," said Neji. "As I have repeatedly stated. Fate has declared you a weakling, an embarassment, and-"

"Naruto," said Fate pleasantly. "If you win your match, you'll get to fight this guy in the finals, right?"

"I guess?" asked Naruto, interpreting her tone correctly. "Maybe. Most likely?"

"Set some time aside for training with Nanoha and myself," said Fate.

Tenten thought about what she'd seen in that other world and wondered who she should sympathize with. Naruto, who would likely be hurting for the next month? Neji, who would be facing Naruto after that month of training? Both?

Tenten just mentally shrugged. Neji was her team-mate and she'd assist him, but sometimes she just wanted to smack him around a bit herself. Concentrate on her own fight for now.

The computer started flashing names, and the next fight was listed.

[Tenten Vs. Sasuke Uchiha]

* * *

"Pardon me, Hayate's cough got a bit worse," said the new proctor. "I'll be the new proctor for purposes of being referee for this fight. Kuroneko, chunin information officer."

The new chunin smiled cattily as he gestured to the two now facing each other. "Here we have Tenten of Team Guy and Sasuke Uchiha of Team Kakashi. For those of you not in the know, Guy and Kakashi have been rivals since they became jonin. Kakashi the ninjutsu expert while Guy excels at taijutsu. So we have the last of the Uchiha, Sasuke, who has fangirls big and small whom he ignores as he focusses on becoming stronger to avenge his clan. Then we have Tenten, who can hit one hundred bull's eyes out of one hundred shots. An expert in thrown projectiles."

"Just get on with it!" yelled Kankuro.

"You're a ninja-puppeteer from Suna, Kankuro!" shouted back Kuroneko. "You should understand dramatic buildup!"

"Oh," said Kankuro in a smaller voice. "True."

"Ahem," said Kuroneko. "So, will the rivalry of their jonin become the rivalry of the genin as Sasuke Uchiha faces one of the few kunoichi of their generation NOT fangirling over him."

Tenten nodded. "Darn straight. I'm a serious kunoichi, mid to long range combat type. I can't stand fangirls."

"Really?" asked Sasuke, straightening and smiling a bit at that. "This might just be enjoyable then."

"And... FIGHT!" said Kuroneko, making a slashing motion with one hand, then leaping back and disappearing mid-somersault.

Tenten started by throwing a handful of kunai. Sasuke dodged three and blocked two more with his own.

* * *

"Thrown weapon specialist, eh?" asked Kankuro. "Good thing for HER sake she didn't get you."

Temari just nodded, her smile a little cruel as she watched the two going at it. "That girl's lost already."

"Huh?" asked Kankuro, looking again. The two were circling each other, occasionally darting forward or back in order to shoot off another group.

"She's right," said Gaara, sounding bored.

"How so?" asked Kankuro. "She's got wires on half the stuff she's thrown and she's leading him into an ambush."

"He's got his Sharingan going," said Temari. "You've read the dossier on that. He knows where the wires are and has been dropping unprimed explosive tags."

"Waitaminute, so has she," realized Kankuro. "When one of them sets one off..."

A large explosion occurred.

"You mean like that?" asked Temari.

"Yeah, pretty much," admitted Kankuro as the smoke made seeing anything in the arena pretty much impossible.

The smoke was disturbed by Sasuke leaping clear and clinging to the ceiling.

"Excuse me."

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro all nearly freaked out at someone who'd managed to sneak up behind all three of them. When he casually parried Gaara's reflexive sand-strike, the alarm went up just a hair more.

"Sorry," said Kuroneko, with a grin that suggested he wasn't completely sorry. "Temari-chan, can you disperse the smoke in the interest of getting things underway quicker?"

"If you promise to never ever ever call me that again," answered Temari, bringing her fan around in a long sweep.

Kuroneko just smiled again, leapt backward, and disappeared in a somersault again.

"That... chunin is worrisome," said Kankuro. "He seems to know what we're capable of and is really good at sneaking."

"Probably a 'silent killing' specialist," said Temari, nodding in agreement.

Sasuke was already putting a kunai to the neck of the stunned Tenten. Tenten yielded a moment later.

"Well, so far we haven't seen anything or anyone that's a challenge," said Kankuro. "This is gonna be easy."

Temari glanced up and saw Kankuro's name appear on the computer. "There you go, tempting fate again."

"It'll still be easy," said Kankuro, seeing the next name come up.

* * *

Kuroneko cleared his throat. "Here we have a match made only in computerized random choices, because this is NOT a good match."

"Hey!" yelled Kiba.

"No offense to either of you young men," said Kuroneko, who then paused and looked towards the dog. "No offense to you either, Akamaru."

"Arf!"

"Can we get on with it, then?" asked Kankuro.

"Very well," said Kuroneko. "On this side, Kankuro of the Sands! Don't let his wearing of makeup and a catsuit fool you!"

"Hey!" protested Kankuro, especially as his sister had just started laughing.

"And in THIS corner," continued Kuroneko. "Coming from a long pedigree of fighters known for their savagery, ferocity, and speed! Akamaru!"

"Arf!"

"Oh yeah, and his partner Kiba Inuzuka."

Kiba snarled and looked like he wanted to demonstrate a couple of techniques on the proctor.

"Begin!" said Kuroneko, abruptly vanishing.

* * *

"Is that guy doing what I think he's doing?" Naruto asked Sakura.

"Yes," said Sakura.

"So, that's what the proctor meant," mused Sasuke aloud.

"Eh?" asked Fate, looking closer. "What's he doing?"

"He also uses poison," said Sakura. "Looks like more than one kind."

"Poison?" asked Fate, realizing that this was another difference between ninja and mages.

* * *

Kiba had started by charging and unleashing a flurry of palmstrikes to push Kankuro off balance, then leapt up and gave a savage kick.

Kankuro's head snapped to the side.

"Aw hell, I didn't mean to-" began Kiba.

"Rowf!" warned Akamaru.

"What?" asked Kiba as he leapt back to a defensive manuever. "A puppet?"

Kankuro's head audibly snapped back into place. "Too late!"

Kankuro's shirt burst open as his chest formed a barrel-shape, with what seemed to be a hundred needles shooting out to hit Akamaru.

"It's over," said Kankuro's puppet to the angry Kiba. "If you give up now, I'll give your puppy an antidote for the poison."

"Poison? You dirty..." Kiba growled but his eyes went to Akamaru who had collapsed and was twitching. "Fine. Forfeit."

"Winner - Kankuro of the Sands," announced Kuroneko. "Kankuro, if you'll administer the antidote?"

Kankuro's puppet grinned and tapped a forearm, sliding back a portion to pull a small vial out and toss that to Kiba.

"Using poison in a prelim fight," grumbled Kiba.

"Aw, did your poor puppy get himself hurted?" asked Kankuro. He snorted. "It's a ninja fight, doofus. Anything I can get away with using is fair game, and I can get away with quite a lot."

* * *

"So where's the real one?" asked Fate.

"That puppet on his back is the real Kankuro," said Sakura. "He's just lucky he didn't go up against Neji, Hinata, or Sasuke. If Kiba had fought longer, he'd have picked up on it through scent."

"Yeah, he... ah," said Naruto. "This might be interesting."

Zaku Abumi had fought Temari, with Temari going on to the finals. Yoroi Akado had fought Shino, with Shino winning. Neji Hyuga had fought Hinata, with Neji winning (and incidently being marked by Fate for a beating at the hands of Naruto if Naruto got to the finals) and Tenten had been defeated by Sasuke.

The computerized board began flashing through names again.


	14. Chapter 14: calm before the storm

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 14: Chunin Exam, elimination round 2

* * *

"In this corner," said Kuroneko, gesturing to one side of the arena. "Don't let her 'squealing fangirl' image define her, as she IS heir of the famed Yamanaka clan. Even if she doesn't look or act it, she has the potential to be a powerful kunoichi someday."

"HEY!" yelled Ino at the proctor. "I'm already a powerful kunoichi."

"If she can get over her delusions, that is. Annnnnnd in THIS corner," said Kuroneko with a gesture towards the other combatant. "Handicapped without his signature weapon, we have the last member of the once-mighty Uzumaki clan. Nicknamed the Orange Storm because of his complete lack of fashion sense -"

"HEY!" protested Naruto.

"- and use of jutsu of massive property damage," continued Kuroneko, "Naruto Uzumaki!"

"I don't wear that much orange anymore," complained Naruto. "Even if orange IS an awesome color."

"Clueless," said Ino.

"You may... BEGIN!" said Kuroneko, leaping back and disappearing as he had previously.

"All right, this will be an easy win!" declared Ino as she drew kunai. "Sorry, Naruto, you stand a chance against me!"

"Flash Move!" said Naruto, disappearing and reappearing - this time behind Ino and in mid-air. He kicked her in the head, then rolled to a position where he came up in a crouch ready for her counter-attack.

Ino lay face-down on the ground.

"Uhm," said Naruto a little uncertainly after a half-minute had passed.

"Winner," began Kuroneko.

"Waitaminute!" protested Naruto. "That's it? I wanted to show off!"

"Them's the breaks," said Kuroneko, lifting up one of Ino's arms then letting it go so that it smacked her in the face. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"But," protested Naruto. "I mean that has to be the lamest win EVER. Can't we wake her up for round two?"

"Tough," said Kuroneko. "You won, and you're just going to have to deal with it."

In the stands, Shikamaru turned to Choji and informed him that Ino was going to be VERY troublesome when she woke up.

Choji replied by noting that Ino was ALWAYS troublesome.

"Get up!" Naruto yelled at Ino. "You're making me look bad!"

"Winner Naruto Uzumaki," said Kuroneko. "Now get OFF the floor of the arena. We DO have other matches you know."

"Dang it," said Naruto, kicking at the ground before turning and walking off the field.

"He spent more time complaining about the match than fighting it," noted Sasuke.

"Well, he does have a point," said Sakura. "He was building up his chakra - probably going to use a followup move. Unfortunately, Ino didn't cooperate."

Kuroneko watched as the medics loaded Ino onto a stretcher and carried her off. "Next match!"

The names flickered along for awhile before the fight was revealed.

* * *

"YOSH!" said Rock Lee, leaping to the floor of the arena.

Gaara merely disappeared in a swirl of sand and reappeared a moment later in the appropriate place.

"A moment my honored opponent," said Lee to the Sand genin. "Let our fight be more impressive and longer than the last one, agreed?"

"It ain't my fault!" protested Naruto from the stands.

"I do not wish our match to be so unimpressive," continued Lee. "This is our chance to show off before our village's representitives and those of other villages as well. Should we not make it suitably exciting?"

"It ain't my fault, damn it!" complained Naruto from the stands.

"Will you be the one to validate my existence?" asked Gaara of Lee. Though he could kind of see the point. That last match HAD been kind of... lame.

"Well," said Lee, taken aback by the odd question. "I suppose so. Yes! I validate your existence. You exist! You seem calm, cold even, but I can tell the fires of youth burn bright within you!"

"My what does what?" asked Gaara, now sounding a little puzzled himself.

"I'm saying that I acknowledge you, I can tell even without a single blow being exchanged - that you are a worthy opponent!" said Lee. "And is it not said that a worthy opponent is something that a ninja treasures?"

"I... suppose," said Gaara, thinking he'd heard something like that before but now off his usual pattern of bloodshed and mayhem.

"In this corner, a genin who has never been injured in any of his many missions for Sunagakure!" said Kuroneko. "The Living Sandstorm! The Desert's Dark Punisher! The Bloodthirsty Avenger Of The Sands! Gaara!"

"Oh?" asked Gaara, thinking he liked those titles. Might have to use one on missions later on.

"In this corner, unable to use genjutsu or ninjutsu, the taijutsu specialist of the Leaf, Rock Lee!" said Kuroneko. "He burns with the fires of youth as the protege of Might Guy! Will it be enough to break through Gaara's 'Ultimate Defense'?"

"Not bloody likely," yelled Kankuro from the stands.

"BEGIN!" said Kuroneko, leaping away.

* * *

_TSAB Lab #3 "Vermillion"_  
"Initial test, aye."

"Current elements: Wind, Thunder, Water."

"Forms check. Default mode stable. Atganga form - 45%. Kasta mode - 25%."

"Some of the original coding on this is bizarre."

"Just copy the formulae and analyze it later."

"Standard spell set for individual elements downloading. Waiting on that for combinations."

"Does this guy have the mana to handle that stuff?"

"Look at the file for 'Naruto Uzumaki' and you tell me."

"Checking... okay. Dang. He's nearly the level of Takamachi."

"Don't let her hear you say that. She'll take it as a challenge."

"I checked to make sure anyone else wasn't anywhere nearby."

"That's good then. No need to go out and bring in extra trouble."

* * *

Fate watched, frowning. "Okay, you're saying he can't use magic. Either your 'genjutsu' or your 'ninjutsu'?"

"That's right," said Guy. "That's why he's put everything into taijutsu and become a taijutsu master!"

"Well, what about weapons?" asked Fate. "Hand to hand combat is fine, but he'd need something for ranged combat and your kunai and shuriken aren't really well-balanced for long distances."

"He can manage fair accuracy with shuriken and kunai," admitted Guy. "Yet that is the area Tenten excels at."

"Still ought to give him some training with weapons," said Fate. "Why is he unable to use basic spells? I thought all of you could do that."

"No, that isn't true," said Guy. "Ninja are the elite among the populace - having trained for years to develop their chakra capacity. Most civilians only have the modest amount necessary for survival. There are some with higher amounts - trained athletes and the like - but it is mostly the ninja of the Elemental Countries and the samurai of areas like the Land Of Iron which have the training and genetic background to become ninja."

"Except that I'm a ninja and my background doesn't include any ninja," said Sakura, cycling her weapon arm into a couple of different configurations. "Present body to the side."

"Yes, the fires of your youth have shone brightly," said Guy with a nod. "Lee! Take them off!"

"B-but Guy-sensei! You said only to do so when someone needed to be protected!"

"It's alright!" said Guy, giving a thumb's up. "I give you permission!"

"Uhm, if it's supposed to be a secret..." began Fate.

"This is Lee's chance to shine, and his opponent is particularly difficult," said Guy.

_[Analysis complete. Critical information obtained.]_ Bardiche silently communicated to his Master.

"_What is it, Bardiche?_" asked Fate by the same method.

_[Opponent is jinchuriki.]_

"Uhm, excuse me," said Fate in a very quiet voice. "Did all of you know that he's fighting a 'jinchuriki'?"

Everyone present in their little group stared at her.

"Guess not," murmurred Fate.

"Okay," said Guy after thinking that little tidbit of intel over. Everyone noticed that his own voice was now very low on the volume. Which surprised those who'd only met him recently as he tended to be a bit on the loud side. "Change of plans."

"That explains the odd signature I'm getting from him," said Sakura finally. "You don't think Lee will still be able to pull off a win?"

"If Gaara of the Sand is a jinchuriki, then there is little chance he can be worn down," said Guy. "Unless Lee strikes a one-hit-killing blow, which is unlikely for Lee, Gaara will be able to recover very quickly."

"He's very fast," noted Sakura as Lee began one series of attacks after another.

"Gaara is not a one-trick warrior," noted Guy. "That Substitution was done without hand-seals or warning, in an instant. Whoever faces him in the finals is going to have a considerable battle ahead of him."

"Ahem."

"Or her," amended Guy.

* * *

Rock Lee glanced up at the railing as Gaara picked himself up. His sensei shook his head marginally.

No then. He was to keep the Celestial Gates secret for the next time.

"You are indeed a formidable opponent, Gaara of the Sands," said Lee as a wave of sand reared up to strike him. "I salute you. Proctor, I must withdraw."

The wave of sand paused.

"You sure?" asked Kuroneko, reappearing next to Gaara and causing the Sand jinchuriki to practically leap out of his sandals.

"My fastest attacks are unable to do more than minor damage," said Rock Lee. "Yosh! I am invigorated to my training! I shall throw myself further into it that one day we may have a rematch, Gaara Of The Sands!"

"Uhm, right," said a clearly confused Gaara. He didn't get a rematch very often. Nor a rival who didn't get squished. This was odd.

* * *

"Too bad, Lee," said Naruto as the taijutsu expert rejoined them.

"Guy-sensei, why did you not wish me to use my 'ace in the hole' here?" asked Rock Lee.

"Because there are things going on here which, unfortunately, I may not yet inform you of," said Guy. "I must go and consult with the Hokage. Rest for now, and we shall go over your performance later."

"Yosh!" said Rock Lee, looking up to see the names flickering on the board.

Sakura stood up, checking her systems before leaping to the floor of the arena. This was HER chance to shine.

* * *

[Scanning. Target Marked.]  
[Subject is human male in early twenties.]  
[Abnormalities found in bone structure.]  
[Abnormalities found in connective tissues.]  
[Scar tissue found in subdermal lines.]

"Analysis?" Sakura asked her Inner.

[Surgical modification.]  
[Probably has a constant ache or pain.]

"So they're sending... what are you?" asked her opponent, who'd started out cocky then got what was obviously his first good look at her.

"Ref? You want to do the introductions?" asked Sakura.

Kuroneko cleared his throat. "In this corner, having had a little accident that has temporarily displaced her mind and spirit - Sakura Haruno."

"Wait a minute, you're saying she's dead?" asked her opponent.

"In this corner," continued Kuroneko. "Misumi Tsurugi. A taijutsu and grappling expert known for his prowess with the ladies of a few villages."

"Damn straight," said Misumi. "Wait. How did you know that?"

"If you both are ready, begin!" said Kuroneko, leaping back.

Sakura took a wide-legged stance, bracing for what she was sure would be a rush and attempt to grapple.

Misumi stood there for a few seconds, looking in the direction the proctor had disappeared in, before turning his attention to Sakura. Her face and head looked normal, but her outfit revealed that she had jointed doll-limbs. So, grappling her wouldn't be fun OR effective.

"Anytime now!" called out Kankuro from the stands.

"Try this," said Sakura, shifting her weight and charging forward herself.

Misumi met her half-way, grabbed on and slithered around as he activated his technique. "It's over! My soft body technique allows me to stretch and distort my shape. Nobody can break my grip!"

Sakura grabbed one arm and began applying pressure. "Idiot."

"You're the idiot, idiot," responded Misumi.

"Even with your bones shifted and tissue being more fluid, you can still be crushed," said Sakura patiently. "Blood still flows and tissue can still bruise."

Misumi yelled something as Sakura applied pressure, when his grip loosened she began tying knots in his limbs.

"Misumi Tsurugi is unable to fight," said Kuroneko.

"I'm not defeated yet!" yelled Misumi.

"You're arms and legs are all knotted together," pointed out Kuroneko. "Can you untie yourself?"

"I can do this!" said Misumi, rocking back and forth as he tried to free himself.

"You know, I was wondering," said Kuroneko. "With your limbs all fluid because of your chakra, what happens when you exhaust your chakra when you're stretched out like that?"

Misumi pondered that as he continued to rock back and forth. "I have no idea."

"Probably be very painful," noted Kuroneko aloud.

"...point taken," said Misumi.

"Okay, winner - Sakura Haruno. Please clear the arena." Kuroneko watched as some medics carried Misumi off while Sakura simply walked back to her seat.

"And for our next fight," said Kuroneko as the names went through their usual dance and came up with the next match. "Oh. That could be interesting."

Sakura briefly wondered what was more interesting about this match than her own.

"In this corner, an all-around nice guy unless you push his Berserk Button, Choji Akimichi!" announced Kuroneko. "Annnnnd in this corner, the siren senbon specialist from Sound, Kin Tsuchi!"

"I'm really sorry about this," said Choji as he walked over to his position.

"Begin," said Kuroneko, leaping out of the way.

"They sent me a real fatty," said Kin.

"Oooooh," said everyone in the audience who knew Choji.

"Wha- What did you call me?" asked Choji.

"What, are you deaf as well as dumb and fat?" asked Kin.

"That's it," said Shikamaru, shaking his head. "It's over."

"What?" growled Choji. "I'm just big-boned."

"Fat do I name thee," said Kin, feeling she'd found a weak spot to attack. Get him so mad he couldn't plan a strategy - that was her plan. "Gross and obese, chunky and chubby do I proclaim thee. Thou art portly and piggy and wide. You jiggle and wriggle as you-"

"HUMAN BOULDER!" called out Choji, activating his technique and rolling forward.

"HA!" said Kin, throwing senbon in rapid succession.

_PING!_ went the various senbon, getting thrown in all directions as they hit.

"Wha? Oh shi-" managed Kin before Choji smashed into her, rolled over her, came back, stopped on top of her and hopped up and down once.

Choji calmed down almost immediately and changed back. "Oh no. She isn't hurt badly is she?"

Kuroneko was already examining the kunoichi. "She'll live with medical treatment. Anyone got a spatula I can pry her up with?"

"Oh dear," said Choji.

"So, Kin is unable to fight, Choji wins," said Kuroneko.

* * *

"These fights tend to go by fairly quickly," noted Fate.

"It would have lasted a lot longer if she hadn't made fun of him," offered Sakura. "You should see the data I got on his techniques though. No wonder he's always eating, he burned through calories like crazy!"

"Well, let's see, who's left?" asked Naruto.

* * *

"Okay, let's try this," said one of the scientists.

"'Try'?" asked Hanabi. "What's this 'try'? You make it sound like you're unsure of what you're doing."

"Well, we understand the basics now," said the other scientist. "Your transformation was similar to the potion-based magic used in some parts of Najirea. Since it IS, all we needed was a Human Transformation Potion."

"Then why have I got all these wires and things hooked up to me?" asked Hanabi.

"To understand the process better, and just in case something goes wrong."

"Wrong?" asked Hanabi. "You are not filling me with confidence here."

"Just drink the potion," said one of the scientists, putting a small dish in front of her and filling it from a vial.

"This better not turn me into something small and vile," said Hanabi as she put her head down and began to lap up the fluid.

* * *

"I'm a little conflicted on this," confessed Hanabi as she calmed herself down finally. "On the one hand, I have hands and can do everything that I found myself unable to in purely feline form."

"On the other hand?" asked one of the researchers, hoping that Hanabi had calmed down. He wasn't going to lower the chair though.

"I seem to be a bit more emotional than is strictly normal for those of the main branch of the Hyuga family," confessed Hanabi.

"We noticed," said the three scientists, five clerks, two security officers, and an absolutely terrified boxed-lunch seller.

Hanabi looked into the mirror and flicked her ears back and forth a few times, then swished her tail. "It will do, I suppose. For now."

"Well, the good news is that this form is stable," said one of the researchers. "The bad news is... that it's very stable."

Hanabi noticed that her ears flicked to follow who was speaking at any given point. Interesting. Potentially useful as well. "What do you mean by that?"

"While you were... reacting," said the researcher, who still had not put the chair down and kept the legs pointing in her direction, "the blood sample was being genetically scanned."

"Yeah, oh that pinprick," said Hanabi. "And?"

The researcher gulped and just went ahead and said it.

* * *

"Was that a lot of screaming and a cat yowling and the sound of indiscriminate destruction?" asked Hayate Yagami.

"Where's Vita?" asked Shamal.

"I'm HERE," said Vita.

"Hmmmm," hmmed everyone at the table, looking at Vita.

"It wasn't me," said Vita.

"Well, not this time," said Shamal.

There was a distant explosion.

"I suppose we should investigate," said Signum.

* * *

"Ah, my dear," said Orochimaru. "You were SUCH a disappointment. And there have been so very many disappointments of late."

"It wasn't my fault," said Kin, backing away as fast as her crutches would allow.

"Oh yes, it really WAS your fault," said Orochimaru, effortlessly keeping up with her and then reaching out to pat her atop the head. "You can't fight for me. You do know what that means, don't you?"

Kin considered screaming even though she knew it wouldn't reach outside the room. Orochimaru knew a sound-barrier jutsu, he often employed it just for such occasions.

"Yes," said Orochimaru with a smile. "I think you do."

Kin despised weakness, and she was despising herself for closing her eyes, knowing what was coming. She'd seen him use the Body Prison Jutsu to provide Kabuto with paralyzed bodies the pale-skinned genin could 'experiment with.'

"Open your eyes child," hissed Orochimaru, his calm sounding strained now.

Kin blinked as she noted that her commander was holding up a vial of blue liquid. "Eh?"

"Drink this," said Orochimaru, "then we'll see if that old crone is worth keeping alive or not."

* * *

"So, you're saying that she's a human who was turned into a cat, who was made a familiar, who is now permanently a catgirl and now has several spells she can cast?" asked Hayate.

"Add that apparently the transformation knocked her brain chemistry a little off," said one of the researchers. "I was trying to tell my colleagues it might be best to sedate her but apparently hospital policy forbids such things until she's actually turned violent."

"I don't see what the problem was," said Vita.

Hayate didn't facepalm. Shamal and Signum did that for her.

"Uhm, couldn't you have used Ring Bind or Chain Bind or..." suggested the researcher.

"What? You wanted her stopped. She's stopped," said Vita.

"You don't know her," said Shamal. "This is Vita."

The effect was immediate, the researcher paled and started backing away.

"Oh come on," said Vita, taking a step forward.

The researcher broke and ran.

"And the legend continues to grow," said Shamal with a sigh.

* * *

Hanabi sat there in the seiza position, the two from TSAB also present.

"So," said Hiashi. "A new bloodline."

"Unless the scientists can find a way to cancel it, yes, it's permanent," said Yuuno. "The changes settled into her genetic makeup, apparently there's some differences there already from what we've seen on most other worlds with humans."

"How so?" asked Hiashi, sitting down at the head of the table and looking positively glacial.

"On Mid-Childa and most of the worlds we've encountered with humans," began Yuuno, who then stopped and shook his head. "Let me try it this way. I'm very high ranked as a mage of a Mid-Childa as an A-Rank. However, in other ways I'm very limited. There are also odd talents of magic passed along in bloodlines similar to your own."

Hiashi nodded, waiting for the point to be made.

"On Mid-Childa and these other worlds, women have higher magical power and capacity than men do," said Yuuno. "Those men who attain higher ranks of magecraft normally have narrower focus in their studies. Mine is mainly defensive and noncombat - particularly information gathering."

"Oh?" asked Hiashi, figuring that this was why this relative youth was the one chosen to speak with him.

Yuuno nodded. "That was why everyone was fascinated by Naruto Uzumaki - an analysis of his genetic structure showed that there was no gender-based bias towards his chakra and that the Uzumaki bloodline allowed for a potentially huge magical capacity."

"You weren't simply..." Hiashi let the sentence trail off.

"No, we found that quickly enough, and its influence on his chakra network accounted for. This was entirely him," said Yuuno. "Hanabi here bears this out. Her chakra is much lower than Naruto's would be even without that factor. Her control, on the other hand, is leagues ahead of Naruto's."

"She is a Hyuga," said Hiashi simply as if that summed it all up. "So she retains the Byakugan and must simply deal with having those ears and a tail."

"Not quite," said Yuuno. "Her flexibility is higher, her speed is slightly greater, and those ears are quite functional. Her hearing is more sensitive, she can determine direction of sounds more easily, and there is the heightened range as well."

"Hmph," said Hiashi. "Whether this becomes a problem or not in the future is a matter for the future. Your group will continue to explore the potential for a cure?"

"Yes, sir."

Hiashi nodded at that, his face giving no flicker of emotion. "Then the rest we shall deal with as it occurs. If anyone is to blame for this... unseemliness - I would make it the original intruder who was responsible for the transformation."

After that was a few more of the usual statements and assurances, the sort of thing any diplomatic meeting was mired in.

Eventually though, Hiashi found himself alone with his daughter. "Anything you did not mention?"

Hanabi nodded. "It was obvious when my control regrettably slipped in the laboratories, but..."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow as fire formed in a ball on Hanabi's outstretched palm.

She dismissed it a moment later. "It tends to explode if I let it build too long."

"It will be interesting to see if you can train to maintain that then," mused Hiashi. "Despite looking as if you are closer to eleven, don't forget you are seven years old. AND a Hyuga of the main branch. The matter of whether those qualities can be passed on will not be settled until many many years in the future."

"Of course," admitted Hanabi, a fanged smirk settling into place.

Seeing that, and the exotic feline features, Hiashi had a feeling that when Hanabi hit the appropriate age - he was going to have some serious trouble with his youngest daughter.

* * *

"Beginning test."

"This is that 'Mjolnir' Intelligent Device, right?"

"Yeah, it looks like someone tried to copy a Mid-Childan issue, but some of this doesn't fit at all. You're the gal who's subbing from Tech-two?"

"Yeah, I heard about it down in Tech-two. I'm looking to shift divisions and join you up here, if I pass my practicals next week. So what's the testing?"

"Intelligent Devices normally have a primary element, like Fate Testarossa's Bardiche primarily uses electrically based attacks."

"Right, whereas our little stranger has electrical primary and water and wind elements?"

"Yeah, but the first time Uzumaki tried to use those elements he burned them out from the power he unleashed."

"No way. What was he doing?"

"Classified. Classified to the extent that none of the people directly involved remember."

"There's a level of classified that's THAT classified?"

"Yeah," said the tech. "There's higher-ups who know about it, and then there's those of us who know that the operation occurred. And some of the medical staff who know bits and pieces. All I know is the name of the operation, and that it was Bad."

"Wow," said the other tech. "So what's this? You've got meters up on all three of these elements, so what are these three? Waitaminute. These are combination elements?"

"Yeah. Thunder + Wind, Wind + Water, Water + Thunder. And then there's this one. Water + Wind + Thunder. That's the one I just sent a system note to command on."

"What is that?" asked the tech from Tech-2. "I mainly work just with the maintenance stuff like fixing the medical equipment."

"If I'm right, this may just end up going into that level of classified, or damn close. Damn it, I hate people mucking with my memories. I don't remember when it was done, but I know I hate that stuff."

"Hmmm," hmmed the Tech-2 maintenance technician, wondering if the downsides of the position outweighed the benefits.

* * *

"So, what's this super-special-secret-technique?" asked Naruto, suppressing a yawn due to the hour.

Somewhere nearby, a rooster let the area know that dawn was approaching. Also somewhere nearby, several neighbors recalled recipes for chicken.

Jiraiya didn't bother trying to keep from yawning. He also didn't bother to hide his disappointment. Kid had a Love Dodecahedron Pile Up that would be unleashed on him at any moment. Naruto seemed to be past the "girls are icky" stage, but did he even notice girls except as "guys that smell funny"?

What Jiraiya said was completely different. "The third part of the exam is going to score extra points for especially flashy or impressive manuevers."

"Eh?" asked Naruto, blinking. "I thought it was just one-on-one combat."

"This has been talked about for some time, but I think this is the first time the modified scoring system has been actually used," admitted Jiraiya. "The idea is that non-ninja will be in attendance. Non-ninja who HIRE ninja. So, you want to make an impression when you go up against that Hyuga boy."

"Oh, well I got a few of those," said Naruto. "And I ought to have Mjolnir back by then."

"That said," continued Jiraiya. "The judges who decide if you make chunin don't care if you win or lose your fight."

"You just lost me again," admitted Naruto.

"Chunin make up the bulk of our specialists in the village," said Jiraiya, "they're the ones that operate independently or are team-lead when a jonin isn't available. They'll be watching how you use what you use, what your strategies and tactics are like. How you use what you've got is what they'll be going over when it comes to recommendations on whether or not you make chunin."

"Oh," said Naruto, thinking about the jutsu/spells he had available and how best to use them. "Hmmm."

"What was your plan for beating Neji?" asked Jiraiya.

"Well..." hedged Naruto.

"I've already checked, there's nobody nearby," Jiraiya assured him.

"Lightning clones."

"Hmmm," hmmmed Jiraiya. Shadow clones charged with electrical chakra that would discharge that when disrupted? "Because the gentle fist uses pinpoint chakra control and projection - that might not work. So, this is what I want you to try..."

* * *

"That was interesting," said Orochimaru as he entered the cell. "Most interesting."

Yzma shrugged as if it were no concern to her.

"You can make other such potions?" asked Orochimaru.

"Yes, I believe your society calls it a kekkei genkai," said Yzma as if this were all terribly boring. "Another of my family does things with puppets. All of us have a different outlet for our magical abilities. Mine is done through potions. I could demonstrate, just to pass the time you understand."

"How long will my experimental subject be under those effects?" asked Orochimaru.

"Oh, it's permanent," said Yzma. "Unless dispelled by another potion."

"Interesting," repeated Orochimaru, eyes half-closed as he considered his prisoner. The muscular man had abruptly vanished - a reverse summons from the look of it. This old woman was too old and too frail (and too ugly) for him to take her body and the first two also indicated that he couldn't simply torture her for information.

* * *

Kin Tsuchi frowned as she went through her supplies and tossed clothing. None of which fit, either her physical form or her tastes.

Orochimaru watched, bemused.

Kin had shrunk in height while her proportions had remained mostly the same. Simply basing one's opinion on height, one would think her to be younger.

Her skin had paled as well, making more of a contrast with her hair.

Black lipstick, black nail polish, and black clothing further contrasted with that pale skin.

It was an odd look for a ninja, as they did tend to work outdoors a bit.

The physical effects were odd, but it was the MENTAL changes that really interested Orochimaru.

She still used her senbon, but was spending a lot of time working on a new jutsu she'd come up with. As he was quite interested in seeing new jutsu developed, he might actually have to let her live long enough to get it working.

Well, there were plenty of other pawns to use when it came down to it.

* * *

"Now, Naruto, we're going to practice something," said Fate.

"Uh huh," said Naruto, eyeing Bardiche.

[Medical supplies present?] asked Bardiche.

Naruto swallowed nervously.

"Your role in your group is the ranged artillery," said Fate. "Sakura seems to fit well as a melee specialist, at least for now. Sasuke seems to be best at melee but mid-range as well. While Sakura has some long-range attacks available to her, that's what most of your attacks with Mjolnir are."

"Not really," said Naruto. "I mean, yeah, some of the really hard-hitting stuff is meant to be done at range but there are things like my Lightning Shadow Clones that are up close and personal."

"Okay," said Fate. "Let's test that."

[Barrier Jacket: Aggressive Mode] said Bardiche.

* * *

Hanabi watched from a tree branch, ready to leap and flee the moment an attack came near her.

As expected, Fate Testarossa was more powerful and more practiced than Naruto. How much of a difference was being made by Fate having Bardiche while Naruto was lacking Mjolnir? Hanabi couldn't say but suspected it was a lot.

She wanted something though.

She'd seen the Mid-Childan city, though her handlers had kept her from interacting with much of the city. There had been many things that had interested her greatly there.

Relations between Konohagakure and Mid-Childa were currently centered on one individual, Naruto Uzumaki.

So, if she wanted to keep an eye on the boy. That was well and good and Hyuga clan business, was it not?

* * *

Yzma sat back and frowned in her cell. At least she wasn't chained to the wall anymore, and unlikely to end up chopped up fine and served over rice. Which HAD been threatened.

It had certainly been inconvenient when they'd run into this group in the forest. Doubly inconvenient when this pale weird-tongue guy had come up. Triply inconvenient when Kronk had abruptly vanished in a puff of smoke.

Weird-tongue-man (Orochimaru he named himself - sounded awfully pretentious to Yzma) had declared it to be something called a reverse-summons. Apparently some high-ranking within the chipmunk and squirrel crowd had something to discuss with Kronk. Well, wasn't that just typical.

Not a damn thing had gone according to plan on this little trip. Really, she was about ready to give it all up as a lost cause and go conquer some third-dimension backwater.

Yzma lips twisted into a smile. _At least one thing went right. That potion I gave him should turn one of his minions into a little ticking time-bomb._

* * *

The Hyuga family had reason to be curious.

"Hinata's Device is a bracelet that can reform into a shortbow of the hankyu style, if you allow for the different materials," said Yanagi Hyuga, looking at Hinata for permission before touching it. She indicated the sphere of what looked like colored glass. "This part is the core, the only part of it which does not change when it goes from being an ornament to a weapon."

Hiashi peered at it with his Byakugan. "It has a chakra network. Is it alive?"

"In a manner of speaking, Hiashi-sama," said the stick-thin old woman. "As I understand it, and correct me please if I am wrong Hinata-sama, but it is a less advanced version of the Devices that the genin Naruto and our recent guest Testarossa-san used."

"So, without their Devices, they can't use jutsu?" asked one of the elders.

"No, that is not true, sir," said Yanagi. "Yuuno Scrya had no such Device on his person, yet he was able to use a flight-jutsu without one. Genin Naruto has also utilized various of these offworld jutsu even though he is currently without a Device."

"So, can we duplicate these?" asked the elder, though frowning at Yanagi as if daring her to answer in the negative.

Yanagi shook her head. "Sir, I am of the branch, but I must speak the truth here. We couldn't even begin to construct such an item. Hinata-sama, if you will activate this?"

Hinata stood, fitted the bracelet on her wrist, and then activated it. It quickly unfurled into the bow-form.

"As you can see, it automatically puts forth a bowstring of chakra and when Hinata-sama actively channels chakra to it - it forms an arrow of her chakra. In addition, you will note that when you specify a target to her. Hinata-sama, can you prepare to fire off a quick arrow? Yes, and if I specify that board there - in the center? You see, my lords? The bow subtly guides her, adjusting the aim to be more perfect. Not that Hinata-sama is a poor archer - but as she learns how to use the bow - the bow has learned what is expected of it and how to be of more use. Such a thing is far beyond the artificiers we have available. And yet - this is as a bronze knife to the steel sword of such Devices as these TSAB ninja have."

"Uhm, actually, they call themselves 'mages'," pointed out Hinata.

"Ah yes, and they're actually more like police than actual ninjas such as we are familiar with," said Yanagi. "My apologies, Hinata-sama, for my imprecision."

"So," said the Elder, stirring. "Is this just a toy then?"

"Hardly," said Yanagi. "It can put a chakra arrow through a target a hundred yards away. I've seen Hinata-sama fire off these 'controlled arrows' that she can direct in flight after they've left the bow. Her rapid-fire technique has terrible aim but throws off a spray of chakra arrows to transfix a target. It speaks well of the genin who gave her that device, as it plays to her strengths."

"What strengths?" snorted the Elder.

"May I speak freely, Hiashi-sama?" asked Yanagi, mindful of her position as a Branch member.

"You may, as long as it is still on the subject of your expertise," said Hiashi.

Yanagi took a deep breath. "As all of you should know, I am a reconn expert. I have lived a long life using my Byakugan to good effect in the service of Konoha. I have noted that Hinata-sama's Byakugan differs from that of Neji or her sister Hanabi-sama's."

"It's less powerful, you mean," said the Elder.

"No sir. I do not," said Yanagi. Normally she wouldn't bother speaking before the Main Branch, much less volunteer information. Mutual contempt more than anything like fear. Yet she thought the possible alliance with Mid-Childa had possibilities she would prefer not eliminated. "Hinata-sama has better range and less of a blind spot. Neji-san has better detail and can see the tenketsu much clearer than almost anyone in the clan. I mentioned that observational skills were my strength, and I have taken the opportunity of this assignment to observe things clearly. The bow is a superior gift for Hinata-sama because she can hit targets that are further off than Neji-san can see."

That brought a few stares at Hinata from those attending.

"I... would see evidence of this," said Hiashi.

* * *

"Is it ready?" asked Nanoha.

"Mjolnir is almost ready for release," said one of the scientists. "We're just doing a few more tests to make sure the reinforcement of the barrel and core are able to handle the strain."

"Good," said Nanoha. "For some reason, Fate-chan is really interested in seeing Naruto do well against his first opponent."

* * *

Hiashi didn't allow approval to show on his face. He was of a proud clan, a clan that might be ninja and descended from ninja, but which had a sense of propriety and tradition that would have been completely in place on a high-tier samurai clan.

"Bullseye. Distance... 2km."

"I see," said Hiashi.

To be able to see 10km away was quite accomplished. To be able to use a chakra weapon and hit a target two kilometers away accurately? It might not help Hinata keep the clan heir position, but it WAS an accomplishment and talent that could be of great use. If she WAS moved to a branch family, a marriage would have to be arranged to maximize the potential of that sort of skill.

In an assassin, such a skill would be of obvious use and utility. To a spy or saboteur, likewise. The problem was that Hinata was not well suited to such a role because of her birth or her personality.

Hiashi Hyuga turned from the testing area without another word. He had to weigh this with the possible repercussions to the clan foremost in his mind.

Behind him, he could sense Hinata lowering the bow which came apart and reformed into a bracelet.

_These Mid-Childans have such devices, where a genin can afford one such weapon. Therefore the weapons they themselves arm their military with must be several stages more powerful. So the weapon's performance can be discounted, and removed from consideration for the moment._

Hiashi continued walking, but nodded. _That leaves Hinata's Byakugan. She cannot see things closely to the extent of Hanabi or Neji according to Yanagi, however her distance vision outstrips their own as well._

* * *

The typical hankyu or "half-bow" was called that because it was half the size of a Japanese-style full bow. What Hinata had, when it wasn't a bracelet, looked and handled like that old weapon. Except that it strung itself with a chakra bowstring and drew on the user's chakra to form an arrow.

It would be considered fairly useless to a modern Mid-Childan mage, being roughly the equivelant of an antique computer or stereo system. Yes, it could still be used for its original purpose but the more modern versions were more efficient and powerful and versatile. A collector might pay for it.

To Hinata, however, the device was quite valuable. With her Byakugan, she could see around her despite obstacles and at a greater distance than was normal. If she could see it, within about two kilometers - she could hit it. There was also a rapidfire function where she could shoot many chakra-arrows all at the same time, but her accuracy went way down and it drained her chakra heavily.

That wasn't the total extent of the value of the device to Hinata though. That it was very useful to her, giving her a ranged attack, was merely a bonus. The hankyu was a gift from someone she admired and liked. That added a level of value to her personally.

Therefore she was wearing the bracelet even when going to the Chunin Exams public event as a spectator.

She looked up briefly as Nanoha Takamichi sat on one side, Fate Testarossa on the other, and Hayate and her Wolkenritter just behind her.

Well, at least they had good seats.

* * *

Temari sat with her brothers and looked over the other participants, wondering how this would play out.

Shino Aburame didn't draw any attention to himself, standing a few yards away and favoring the "silent and enigmatic" image.

Neji Hyuga had defeated Hinata in his own earlier match, and had practiced and worked out manuevers to be ready for his own battles. Of course, he thought he was fated to win against all these others. There were few that could offer him a worthy battle.

Sasuke was late. As he was being trained by Kakashi Hatake, this surprised absolutely no one familiar with them.

Kankuro had defeated Kiba through the use of poisons. As he'd had a ration bar earlier that had passed its expiration date, he was considering a run to the nearest men's room.

Naruto shrugged off the glare from where Ino sat across the arena, who still hadn't forgiven him for defeating her in such a humiliating fashion.

Gaara had beaten Rock Lee, and when his eye passed over the green-wearing youth in the spectator section he was surprised to see the other grin and wave at him. Finding himself giving a tentative wave back just added to the confusion.

Sakura had defeated her own opponent, and stood waiting with a completely unreadable expression.

Choji and Shikamaru had won their own matches. Choji ate chips and was completely relaxed. Shikamaru was not only relaxed, he was taking a nap.

Dosu Kinuta was waiting for his chance to strike and prove to Orochimaru that he was more valuable than his other two team-mates. He considered it a great pity that he hadn't been able to get a clear shot at Gaara to eliminate the sand-user and ensure that he had a chance to fight the Uchiha boy that Orochimaru seemed curious about. Still, he was sure that he could prove himself here even against other opponents.

"Naruto Uzumaki versus Neji Hyuga," said Kuroneko, appearing in the ring. "Are you two ready?"

"Fate has declared that you will lose today," indicated Neji as he made his way down.

"Fate told me to kick your ass," replied Naruto.

"You clearly do not know fate," shot back Neji as he walked to his spot.

"Better than you do, and Fate's really tired of you trash-talking about her," said Naruto.

"Hmph, we shall see," said Neji.


	15. Chapter 15: Chunin Exam, 3rd test

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 15: Chunin Exam, third test

* * *

Winry took a seat next to one of the Wolkenritter (not Vita) and looked over the crowd.

"Cigars, cigarettes, pipeweed, death-sticks," called out one vendor as he moved along the stadium seating.

Other than the clothing, this might have been a stadium in one of the less technologically developed portions of Mid-Childa or even Ancient Belka.

"Are you sure about this, Winry?" asked her companion.

"No problem, Ed," said Winry. "Look, the Hokage is their head of state or something. They've got security all over the place."

"I dunno," said Ed. "I just got a feeling..."

"Ice-a cream, get'cha ice-a cream," said a vendor going behind them. "We gotsa da tootsie-fruitsie ice-a cream-a."

"We can have a nice normal date for once," said Winry, not commenting on Ed's flinch or nervous gestures. "The universe owes us one at this rate."

"Hot dogs, popcorn, onigiri," called out another vendor as he moved past them.

"Yo, them onigiri fresh?" asked Ed.

"Just made an hour ago, fresh ingredients," said the vendor. "Most of the attendees are ninja or family of ninja - be kind of dumb to try and cheat 'em with cheap ingredients."

"You just might have a point there," acknowledged Ed.

"Oh, there's Sakura," said Winry, standing up and waving.

* * *

Neji's eyes narrowed slightly as he saw something being thrown to Naruto from one of the girls sitting next to Hinata.

It didn't really matter WHAT it was, as he'd investigated enough of this loser to see what his records from the Academy were like. No, he would crush this fool. The only thing he hoped was that he didn't have to reveal too much of his own capabilities before the serious fights.

* * *

Kuroneko, the same chunin from the preliminaries held his hands up, acting every bit the showman. "Innnnnn this corner!"

"It's a ROUND ring!" yelled someone in the stands.

Kuroneko stomped one foot on the ground. "Washtub no jutsu!"

_CLANG!_

Everyone in the stands stared at where the heckler had just been slammed on top of his head by a metal washtub.

"Ahem," said Kuroneko, coughing into one fist. "In THIS corner! Last year's Rookie Of The Year from Konohagakure Ninja Academy, hailed as a Genius of the branch family of the famed Hyuga clan. From Maito Gai's team of combat specialists - Neji Hyuga!"

There was applause from the stands for him, which caused Neji to momentarily lose his usual brooding aspect as he had absolutely no idea how to respond to something like that.

"He crushed and humiliated his cousin Hinata in the preliminaries, which does NOT sit well at all with his opponent in this match," continued Kuroneko after he'd held his hands up to quiet the crowd again. "In this corner, is a recently graduated genin with many titles. The Dead Last of his class, who has gone on to earn names like 'the Orange Storm', 'Dragonfriend', 'Demonslayer', and a few less flattering sobriquets. Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto AND Neji were surprised by the number of enthusiastic cheers. Admittedly, most of the audience just looked at the ones cheering as if they'd done something insane - but the group WAS cheering for Naruto. They were also doing so louder than Neji's group had.

"Fate states that your journey ends here," said Neji finally.

"NO I DON'T!" yelled some girl in the stands.

"She says otherwise," said Naruto to Neji.

"Who does?" asked Neji.

"Fate does," said Naruto.

"Fate does what?" asked Neji.

"Fate says that you're not right," said Naruto.

"Fate is inescapable," said Neji, sneering. "If you blame anyone for your defeat today - blame fate."

"WHAT? KICK HIS ASS, NARUTO!"

Both genin glanced towards the blonde girl who was currently hefting a weapon and crackling with electricity.

"You really need to stop tempting Fate," said Naruto. "She really doesn't like you talking about her like that."

"Ahem," said Kuroneko. "If you two are done talking about entirely different fates?"

"It is entirely his problem for not understanding fate," said Neji.

"Just start the fight already," said Kuroneko, who then blurred and vanished.

* * *

"Lightning clones?" asked Nanoha.

"Yes," said Hinata with a nod of her head.

"Looks like this 'Neji' guy was ready for them," said Nanoha. "He's not getting shocked by them."

"He's extended his chakra slightly so that he doesn't make direct contact with a clone," observed Hinata, her Byakugan going.

"Oh," said Nanoha. "He hasn't released Mjolnir. So they're just testing each other out right now?"

"No," said Fate. "You noticed that Naruto surrounded that boy with clones, but five of them are spaced out?"

"In a pentagram," said Hayate. "Is he going to-"

* * *

Ino Yamanaka was conflicted.

On the one hand, she wanted to see Naruto Uzumaki curb-stomped in a particularly vicious manner. After all, he HAD defeated her with apparent ease and utterly crushed her in front of Sasuke. She'd also ended up with the unwanted title of "Lamest Fight" for this particular Chunin Exam and would likely be hearing about that for YEARS.

On the other hand, Naruto HAD defeated her. If he had defeated her, and he was easily defeated - then that made her even MORE lame. She'd completely missed that until Shikamaru had pointed it out to her. Which ended with her being rather upset at Shikamaru for the point, but having to acknowledge that point nonetheless.

So, yes, Ino Yamanaka was quite conflicted about that. Her compromise was hoping that Naruto made a good showing in the early part and THEN got curb-stomped.

Life was so complicated nowadays.

* * *

Orochimaru/kazekage was fascinated.

The boy who'd been with Sasuke and that doll in the forest was fighting the Hyuga. The Hyuga, with their dependence on the Byakugan and their Jyuken were a known factor. Interesting, because those eyes were so very useful if not as specifically intriguing as the Sharingan, but ultimately something he knew all the facets of and could diregard.

No, it was the blonde boy who was interesting. He knew the boy could move quickly when he had cause, or at least fast for a rookie genin.

The boy's opening move was to create shadow clones, and that caused Orochimaru to consider their last encounter. Hadn't Sasuke Uchiha mentioned 'lightning clones'?

Yes, and there had been that 'Ring Bind' jutsu he'd attempted to use in their brief skirmish.

The Hyuga had apparently done his homework, forcing his chakra out enough from his fingers that he could strike the clones and disrupt them while performing a slight barrier to proctect him from the electrical discharge that occurred then.

"This match may be interesting to you," said that old fool Sarutobi, still believing he was speaking to the real Kazekage. "Neji Hyuga is accounted a genius at the Hyuga techniques."

"Oh, I could already tell that," said Orochimaru drily as the blonde genin clapped his hands and send a brief flash of lightning towards the Hyuga - who brought up a Kaiten to block it.

* * *

"I can see what you're going to do, and fate decrees you fail here," said Neji.

"Proctor? After the match, can I blast him?" called out some blonde girl in the stands.

"After the exam, such a thing can be scheduled," said Kuroneko, surprising the Mid-Childan group by suddenly appearing standing at the end of their row. "If you feel the need."

"Static discharge," said Naruto, holding out a hand.

Neji responded again by using the Kaiten technique.

Naruto, blurred, forming enough clones to practically fill the arena's flooring.

"More clones? Your signature technique it seems," said Neji.

"Yeah, well, I took the Academy test three times - but the clone technique is the one test I couldn't pass." A Naruto in front of Neji gestured at the surrounding crowd. "If I couldn't do it then, you're saying I could never do it. Ain't the case."

"It's still useless," said Neji, beginning to spin.

A loop of wire wrapped around Neji's arm. He spun anyway.

That something was going wrong was very quickly evident though as it began wrapping around him. He paused and glared at Naruto.

"Do you think something like this would stop me?" asked Neji, severing the wire.

"No," said one of the Naruto. "I thought it would delay you long enough for-"

Two sets of hands emerged from the ground at Neji's feet, then dispelled with a massive crackle of electricity.

Neji staggered for a moment, then shook his head. "That was the best you could... what is wrong with you now?"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" went roughly half the Naruto clones.

"What?" asked Neji.

The Naruto that were laughing seemingly went completely out of control at that. Even the ones that weren't laughing were smirking or staring.

"What..." A horrible thought interrupted Neji, and a hand went up to his hair. Only to confirm that terrible thought, as his hair was now sticking up in all sorts of odd angles. "Childish."

"Y-y-y-you haven't even noticed your pants are on fire," managed one of the laughing Naruto.

Neji blinked, reactivating his Byakugan after the zapping had caused him to drop the technique. "Do you think I am so foolish as to fall for such an old trick... wait a minute."

Neji instinctively looked down at where his Byakugan had determined that burning smell and sensation was NOT an illusion.

At which point Naruto's lightning clones dogpiled him and then discharged.

When the smoke finally cleared, not only was Neji's hair reminiscent of a sea urchin, but he was actually twitching and putting sparks out.

Naruto took the opportunity this gave him to give Neji a speech on how he had failed to graduate the Academy because of the clone technique, but had managed to do shadow clones and now lightning clones. Which was why he had HAD to use that particular attack to make that point.

Neji was loaded onto a stretcher and carried off, still occasionally twitching. Whether from the speech, from being seen with his hair koosh-balled, or just the amount of volts he'd taken - that part was unclear.

* * *

"Shino Aburame versus Kankuro," announced Kuroneko as soon as Neji was carted off and Naruto had finished getting halfway up the stairs. By that time the two next fighters had made their own way down. "Here we have-"

"Forfeit," announced Kankuro.

"Excuse me?" Kuroneko scratched his head. "You made it all the way here and now just forfeit? Are you really just doing this to tell the Aburame they aren't worth fighting?"

"I'm not willing to display my secret techniques at this point," clarified Kankuro. "And no. They're not worth fighting. They're creepy."

"Creepier than wearing a catsuit and makeup?" asked one of the genin in the crowd.

"HEY! This is traditional puppet-user clothing," protested Kankuro. "Tra-dish-ahn-ahl!"

"Well, sorry, Shino, I guess you win by default," said Kuroneko. "Are you disappointed by this turn of events?"

Shino silently considered the back of his opponent as Kankuro walked back up the stairs, then looked briefly at the proctor. "Indeed."

"So is everyone else," said Kuroneko. "Well, them's the breaks. We now go to the third match! Temari of the Sands! Shikamaru Nara!"

Temari took her place and rolled her eyes as her opponent slouched into place. "If you want to get back to your nap, you can just forfeit you know."

"No, I appreciate the offer though," said Shikamaru, inclining his head. "It'd be very troublesome if I just gave up."

* * *

"In this corner, the siren of the sands..." began Kuroneko.

"Knock it off, will you?" interrupted Temari, sounding quite irritated. "I don't sing. I'm no 'siren' and I don't need fancy titles."

"Spoilsport," said Kuroneko.

"Buddy, you have NO idea," called out Kankuro.

"Temari of the Sands," said Kuroneko. "And having been thrown over the railing by one of his team-mates -"

"Yeah, thanks Ino," muttered Shikamaru as he dusted himself off before going into his habitual slouch.

"- Shikamaru Nara," said Kuroneko. "Anyone wanting to hit the restroom or visit the snack bar, this is a good time because both of these ninja favor the concept of outsmarting and outlasting their opponent."

"Really?" asked Temari, eyeing Shikmaru now. "Are you sure he's not just lazy?"

"Well, that too," said Kuroneko, blurring and reappearing in the shade of a tree. "Begin!"

* * *

"Idiot," said Yuuno. "What did you think you were doing?"

"Winning?" asked Naruto.

"He meant 'What was with that pentagram'?" asked Signum. "You clearly built up for an attack, and then changed your mind just before executing it."

"Oh," said Naruto. "Yeah, that was pretty much it. I realized that if I was going to defeat him - I needed to point out that he was wrong at the same time about people not being able to change."

"So you wanted to beat him with an attack that you had trouble doing when you were younger," said Nanoha, seeing the point. "I don't think it mattered and you should have just gone ahead and brought down Kirin."

"Takes too long to setup," said Naruto.

"Well, whatever," said Hayate. "Looks like this match is going to be like a chess game."

"What, incredibly boring?" asked Vita, turning her attention to the arena briefly. Neither one of the combatants were moving.

"Something like that," said Hayate.

"Isn't there supposed to be something about performing their jutsu so that prospective clients can get enthusiastic about hiring a ninja?" asked Ed in the row behind them.

"Not everyone can be as awesome as me," said Naruto.

"Yeah, sh'right," answered Ed.

"All that training and you wanted to use lightning clones," said Fate finally. "Lightning clones."

"Hmph," hmphed Signum. "That isn't what you did."

"No?" asked Naruto.

Signum slowly shook her head once.

"Couldn't fool you, huh?" said Naruto.

"I have... a bit more experience than you," acknowledged Signum.

"What?" asked Vita.

"You can't really see it with the ground churned up to the extent it was during his match," said Shamal. "But he left something for a later match."

* * *

Temari leapt back as a kunai and bit of cloth extended Shikamaru's shadow.

Shikamaru moved a foot further to the left and otherwise stalled. This was proving to be a troublesome match.

* * *

Two figures stood atop the roof and considered the battles going on there.

"Why not just go in?" asked Sasuke finally.

"Dramatic appearances are required," said Kakashi, his nose in a book.

"And you wanted to finish that chapter," guessed Sasuke.

"No, absolutely not, not at all, well maybe, possibly, just a little," said Kakashi, not looking up.

Sasuke made a face and settled down. This might take awhile.

* * *

The ground had been broken up pretty heavily in spots, while tunnels had been made through those and other areas.

Manipulating Temari to misjudge his range, and then make sure she was off-guard, these were easy.

Still, things had been setting off quiet little alarms all day and he wanted to have as much chakra as possible. So he just demonstrated that he could have won, then claimed he was out of chakra and forfeited.

That would leave him underestimated if trouble DID develop, and his mother would not be as troublesome as if he had quit at the beginning of the match if nothing did happen.

* * *

"And now the match you've all been looking forward to," said Kuroneko. "If your neighbor is asleep after that last match, you might want to wake them up for this. In this corner, the master of sand-manipulation - the bloodthirsty beast of Suna! Gaara!"

Gaara appeared in a swirl of sand.

"So, Gaara, you appear to be calm and ready to unleash your most impressive moves," began Kuroneko. "Any thoughts you'd like to share with your audience."

Gaara blinked, then regarded the proctor. "What?"

"There are many people here ready to see you be impressive and show your stuff, you know - cheer you on to victory," said Kuroneko.

"That would be... unusual," said Gaara, sounding a little confused as if the idea that people happy to see him sounded too bizarre to be seriously considered.

"Well, Rock Lee is especially hoping you do a good showing today, he's your 'friendly rival' after all," said Kuroneko.

"YOSH!" yelled a green-wearing bobhaired kid in the audience.

"I... see," said Gaara.

"He's just stalling until the Uchiha kid gets here!" yelled Kankuro, who'd figured it out.

"Washtub no jutsu!" declared Kuroneko.

Kankuro covered his head briefly, having seen this before. Then he uncovered his head when nothing happened. "HA! You screwed up!"

_CLANG!_ went a large metal washtub down onto Kankuro's head.

* * *

"Hmmmm," said Temari, looking down at where one brother had just been flattened and looked stunned. That attack actually looked kind of handy, especially if you could delay the activation like that.

Baki leaned close and spoke so quietly it couldn't be heard more than a few inches away. "I've spoken with one of our sensors and a spy. That particular proctor has high-chunin levels of chakra and is an information gathering specialist. If you get a shot later, go for it."

Temari nodded once in reply, turning her attention back to the match as soon as an additional two figures appeared on the field.

* * *

"About time," muttered Kuroneko.

Kakashi shrugged and opened his mouth to give an excuse.

"Okay, is everyone ready for an impressive match involving two very impressive genin?" called out Kuroneko to the crowd. "Gaara of the Sand Village versus Sasuke Uchiha of the Leaf! One I've already spoken of. The other - a vengeance haunted survivor whose only solace is in getting stronger."

"Hnn," agreed Sasuke with that assessment.

There were some loud cheers in response to Kuroneko's question, to which he nodded.

Gaara settled back into the slightly-annoyed pose."So... you are strong? Will you validate my existence?"

"We'll see," responded Sasuke.

"Okay," said Kuroneko, lowering his voice and addressing the two genin. "Don't forget - many of those in the audience are prospective clients for your villages. After the last match, some of them need a little excitement. So try not to one-shot kill your opponent in the first minute, either of you. Show off some."

"There is no chance of me being 'one-shot' killed," said Gaara with confidence and just a touch of menace.

"Good," said Kuroneko, who then raised his voice to be more audible to the crowd. "So represent your villages and fight well! BEGIN!"

Kakashi and Kuroneko both vanished in high-speed blurs, and the two genin turned their full attention to each other.

* * *

Temari kept watch on her primary target. Kuroneko. Judging from the name, probably an ANBU. Certainly he wasn't just a chunin unless he was one of those who lacked the ambition to make jonin. Even in Sand there were a few of those - they chose to remain chunin rather than go for the increased responsibility, pay, and chance of dying on a mission.

This Kuroneko seemed to have a rapid-movement jutsu down to the point where he didn't need more than a single one-handed handseal to activate it. That made getting in close next to impossible, which was probably a factor in having her go after him compared to Kankuro. She could do long-range compared to Kankuro's mid and short range.

Temari tried to remember the other jutsu he'd performed. There was that Washtub No Jutsu, which looked like a joke but actually seemed to be fairly devastating and extremely accurate. There was some sort of information-gathering jutsu he had going for him, as there was absolutely no evidence that Konoha's spy network was competent.

Wait. What was Gaara doing?

* * *

"Go Gaara! Let your youthful vigor explode!"

Gaara was REALLY thrown off base. Having someone cheer for him was such a completely unique unprecedented experience that he was just trying to figure out how he was supposed to react. Especially with the point being made that he had to demonstrate to potential clients why they should hire Sand Village.

So Gaara was being creative. Instead of just a wave of sand, it took the form of a grasping hand which swatted at the black-haired boy who was his opponent. Said opponent dodged, then found himself being harried by little fist-shaped lumps of sand that shot towards him.

Gaara frowned. Killing was easy, but how to make it look interesting?

* * *

As soon as they'd hit something, Sasuke noticed the little piles of sand flowing back towards Gaara. With his Sharingan going, he could see that the sand was chakra-infused and being reused.

Even seeing where the attack was coming wasn't helping that much as every attack seemed designed to cover a large area. It was easier to dodge the bursts of smaller sand-fists, but it was still difficult.

Which was actually fine with him. This was the third portion of the Chunin Exam. The very difficulty of the test was what made winning all the sweeter.

Sasuke ran for the wall, then up it, getting some distance from the sand. As expected, Gaara settled down into a defensive posture.

Electrically charged chakra formed around one hand as he prepared his technique.

* * *

"That's interesting," said Fate, squinting. "A thunder-based attack."

[Limitation on range is shifted to armor-piercing capability.]

"Yes, Bardiche, I see," said Fate.

"So he can't shoot that, but he can penetrate defenses?" asked Nanoha.

"So that's what Kakashi-sensei was teaching Sasuke during the last month," said Naruto, examining it himself.

"You can do something similar with Mjolnir you know," said Fate.

"We'll see," said Naruto.

* * *

There was an old saying about how the lack of a nail meant a horseshoe fell off a horse, eventually causing both a battle and a war to be lost. The point being that a tiny problem could eventually snowball into a disaster.

Baki was watching the fight between Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara when a fly was attracted by his sweat. He was sweating because Konoha might be cooler than Suna but was a LOT more humid. Whatever the cause, he idly swiped at the irritating thing and then repeated that gesture twice.

Finally, the little errant insect was impacted and died in the bleachers surrounding the arena where the Third Exam was taking place. Eventually a small bird would eat the crushed insect and the circle of life would continue.

That wouldn't be obvious for awhile though as there were consequences of the simple action of one Jonin.

* * *

"That's the signal!" said one of the genjutsu users hidden in the crowd. He quickly did the hand signs where nobody could see and sent the jutsu out.

Genjutsu specialists on either side felt the use of the technique and wondered why they were going early, but dutifully triggered their own use of that jutsu.

In the stands, a proctor was wondering WHY this was happening now - even earlier than in a canonic timeline.

Baki had suddenly realized what all the drifting feathers meant and was wondering WHY everyone was breaking with the plan. Since they HAD started though, he simply went ahead and made sure those nearest him were already in motion before following the plan himself.

* * *

Sakura shifted slightly. "Genjutsu. Ineffective against me. How are you doing?"

"Snzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz," managed Ino.

"Right," said Sakura, considering all the ways to deal with this. She brought up two fingers, sent a small electric charge arcing between them, and considered where Ino was lying.

* * *

[Warning.]

"Interesting," said Hayate.

"Got it!" said the doll-sized girl sitting in mid-air near Hayate's shoulder. "Ooh. This has crowd-control possibilities."

"Can I break it now?" asked Yuuno.

"Oh yeah, go ahead," said Hayate, inclining her head.

Yuuno Scrya made a gesture. Feathers stopped falling around them.

"So, what do we do?" asked Edward Elric from the row behind the TSAB group.

Naruto stood up. "Mjolnir."

[Set Up. Barrier Jacket Aggressive Mode.]


	16. Chapter 16:Invasion

Mid-Childa Naruto  
aka: Mischief Fragment - Mjolnir

a possibility raised by Greylle

The plan was to drop this. Time restrictions and there are a few magic-Naruto stories already out there. i haven't run into one quite like this though, and plot details just keep fitting themselves into place. Which is why it's been seperated out from the Omake and put here.

Various characters from various series. Mainly Nanoha and Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 16: Chunin Exams, Invasion

* * *

Chrono stood at the top of the stairs, trying to spot the other Mid-Childans. After all, if he used magic to locate them - the various guards and such might misinterpret even such simple spellcasting.

"There's something seriously off about this," said Lindy Harlaown, following her son. "Something's definitely wrong."

"Advancing through ranks by killing other candidates seems wrong enough," confessed Chrono. Just in case, his hand strayed towards where he kept his Device. "Durandal?"

[Warning!]

Which really was all Chrono needed before the white drifting feathers started appearing, as he was already activating Durandal and putting a barrier up.

* * *

_flashback:_

Kabuto slid his glasses up his nose, trying to keep disgust from entering his voice. It was difficult, because of all of Lord Orochimaru's experiments, all of the thugs and lowlifes, these two were the worst. They weren't the bottom of the barrel, these two were the scum that formed under the barrel itself.

"So, heh heh, what's our part in this invasion thing, heh heh?"

"And we get a powerup, right. Heh heh."

"Yes, and in keeping with the sound related experiments, I'm going to enhance your vocal chords," said Kabuto, a little disgusted he'd have to actually touch these two. If a corpse had been mouldering a week in a grave with rot and worms, it would still be preferable to these two. "What you are going to do is something you already excel at. You need to find targets during the invasion, then be as insulting as possible."

The two short misshapen smelly ninja looked at each other. Finally one of the two spoke. "That's heh heh right up our alley."

"Yes, Beevitsu and Butahedomaru, you shall infuriate high level ninja to the point where they are concentrating entirely upon you, and can then be crushed by other members of the strike force," said Kabuto, completely not mentioning that it was his extreme hope that even if nothing else happened - these two would meet a suitably painful end.

* * *

_present:_

Naruto became an orange streak as he accelerated his flight, having apparently spotted a problem. In less than a heartbeat he'd left the TSAB group and was throwing himself literally into the battle.

"We should not interfere here," said Yuuno, "beyond protecting the civilians and ourselves."

"Hmph," hmphed Vita, standing up to get a better view of the battlefield. "It's not like WE are the ones attacking, you know."

"Heh heh WE GET TO KILL CRIPPLES AND WHORES!" declared some ninja, leaping up and throwing kunai.

"Heh heh, you said 'whores' in a war, heh heh," declared some other ninja, also throwing kunai.

Most kunai were blocked by Yuuno's barrier. The one that swept Vita's hat off her head, bounced off Edward's metallic arm, and then slammed into a support pillar managed to get through.

Then the kunai's explosive tag went off, destroying a chunk of that pillar.

Vita turned and stared at the smoke cloud, twitching when little pieces of fabric came drifting down.

Vita slowly turned as the ninja continued to attack, one sending green-stained shuriken in a wave towards Hayate.

Hayate didn't flinch as Signum stopped each and every shuriken. She just decided to point something out. "He's wearing a Sound Village headband."

* * *

Naruto wasn't sure WHAT was involved in the sudden feeling of Extreme Doom that passed over him. He simply felt that it was not (rarely and thankfully) pointed at HIM.

"Mjolnir! Flash Move!"

He had other things to worry about after all.

From his new vantage point above the stadium, he brought Mjolnir up above his head. "Cartridge Load."

_KA-CHUNK!_ went a cartridge into Mjolnir's recently added Belkan system.

"Target Sand and Sound ninja in the stands in front of me," said Naruto.

[Targets Acquired.]

"Chain Lightning!" said Naruto, throwing his hammer.

A white glow formed around Mjolnir, rockets folded out on the underside of the hammer head, and it was off - slamming into the first target and then ricocheting to the second.

The first target was still flying backwards from the impact and crackling with electrical discharges when the third and fourth targets were hit. The fifth was able to put up a barrier and further deflect it, but the sixth was not so skilled.

Then the hammer reappeared in Naruto's hands and he was diving into the melee itself.

* * *

Neji Hyuga wasn't able to fight effectively at the moment. However he DID have his Byakugan going and was with the other Hyuga.

After seeing Naruto Uzumaki use his hammer to strike six chunin-level assailants in a single move, with only one of those struck able to fight thereafter - he knew a moment of gratitude that he had not been struck in such a manner.

Hanabi yowled as a jonin-level attacker charged into their group, somehow managing to swarm up the attacker in that picosecond, get a scissor lock around his neck and then slamming clawed fingers into his temples.

"That was not the Gentle Fist style," rumbled Hiashi disapprovingly as the attacker crumpled.

"Effective though," said Hanabi with a shrug, having leapt free and now idly licking blood off her fingers. She didn't make a particular face at the taste though, just noted that some fresh cream to rinse her mouth out would be acquired after the battle.

"True," admitted Hiashi. "Observe, and I shall show you how a Hyuga should properly deal with such vermin."

_BOOOM!_

"Hmph," said Hiashi as something extremely violent was occurring in another part of the stands. "Too showy."

"But effective," noted Hanabi.

Neji merely twitched, not missing a thing.

* * *

Vita frowned at the two ninja who had just became a glimmer of light heading off into the distance.

"I really hate to say this," said Yuuno. "The TSAB really shouldn't get involved beyond protecting innocents in our immediate area since this is apparently what the locals consider 'ninja-politics' and normal."

"This is normal?" asked Fate. "They're trying to kill each other!"

"Well, yes, my research did indicate that was fairly normal," said Yuuno. "It's been done repeatedly in the recent past to change leadership in this manner. So, unless someone whom we've interacted with requests help specifically..."

"Someone HELP!" yelled Hinata from where she was facing three attackers.

"Konoha calls for aid," said Vita, looking positively gleeful at the prospect.

Having seen the movie, Hayate spoke. "And we will answer! We ride... for war."

* * *

Hiashi smashed one of the nin down. "Why did you call for help? Such behavior is not worthy of a Hyuga."

"It wasn't for me, father," said Hinata, catching her breath. "I was able to lip-read some of our allies. They wanted to get involved but there was a legal requirement in the way. I... I was merely trying to be a good host to our guests, by allowing them an excuse."

Hiashi frowned and watched as one of those guests caused her sword to shift into a razor-edged whip which carved through three enemy jonin. "I see. Well, if you were just showing courtesy to a guest." Hiashi disappeared abruptly, returning to his own section.

Hinata held out one hand now that she wasn't being overmatched in melee, her bracelet shifting to bow-form. Time for a few precision strikes.

That too was a Hyuga specialty.

* * *

Temari floated above the general melee on her fan, her eyes searching for her target.

Finally she spotted him, apparently writing out a quick letter and sticking it into a mailbox. She had no idea WHY someone would take time out to do that in the middle of an invasion. She wasn't going to complain though as it left her target wide open for Death From Above.

Unfortunately, at that point a ridiculously large hammer swatted her into a wall.

When the stars had cleared from her eyes, she had a bare moment to notice that her target had a paper seal and was sticking it onto her forehead.

At which point everything went black.

* * *

Vita was in her element. Which, if anyone were to doubt, was what was often referred to as a 'target-rich environment' and she had a lot of frustration and anger to work through.

[Gigant Form] announced her Intelligent Device Graf Eisen as it shifted to something more suited to swatting ninja.

Which she did, smacking one girl who was floating on a fan sufficiently hard that the blonde hit a wall and just stuck there.

[Panzerschild] announced Graf Eisen, forming a barrier as one of the Sand ninja attacked with spheres of fire.

"Gajuu Souha!" announced Zafira, engaging the enemy jonin.

Leaving Zafira to use his Strike Arts against the other's 'taijutsu' meant that Vita could go after other targets.

Fortunately, it was a target-rich environment.

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei!" said Sakura as she landed on the stairs, then turned her back on the two Leaf jonin so that she could morph her weapon arm into another configuration.

[Sniper Mode] announced a voice from within Sakura.

"I guess genjutsu isn't effective against you," noted Kakashi.

"Naruto threw out a Wide Area Search," said Sakura, taking a shooting stance before sending a couple of shots out. "Then used silent communication to relay to me. The entire village is being invaded. Marking roughly three hundred enemy shinobi, six summoned beasts - mostly snakes. They're assaulting both civilian and shinobi targets."

"Can you dispel the genjutsu over a wide area?" asked Kakashi.

"Actually, I think Yuuno is doing that," said Sakura, who then twisted and pointed. "Who's that with the Hokage?"

"That's the Kazeka... Orochimaru," said Kakashi as he realized what he was seeing.

* * *

Baki stared as he'd been positioning himself to come to the Kazekage's aid. Which meant that when the odd pulse went through the stadium, dispelling various genjutsu, he had a fairly clear view of the Kazekage turning into Orochimaru.

Baki had not achieved jonin by being stupid or unable to piece things together.

He toggled the transceiver he had in his concealed headset, but hesitated. Yes, they were being played as dupes by the Sound Village. Yes, it would be perfectly normal by ninja community standards to start a fight and then switch sides. The problem was that the fight was rapidly going in a direction he didn't like and a full scale retreat was probably a better idea.

Or they could try to finish off the weakened Leaf anyway, THEN switch sides and turn on the Sound.

_BOOM!_

There was a stadium-shaking explosion, and Baki made his decision while trying to avoid debris.

* * *

The smoke bomb had not gone off. Fortunately he had spares.

The grenades leveled the box area, which caused the Hokage to move. Once atop the roof of a nearby building, his four minions set up the barrier. That part of the plan fell into place. Which was good as otherwise things weren't running smoothly according to plan, but this day would end the Leaf Village. Nothing could change that.

"So, Orochimaru. It's you after all."

Orochimaru blinked. That chakra surge had managed to dispel his disguise? Well, it had passed its usefulness anyway.

* * *

"First thing I need to do is reduce the number of attackers," reasoned Naruto aloud. He began to whirl his hammer around by the ring at its base. "Target Sand and Sound Ninja in the stadium."

[Targetting Acquired.]

"Ready." Naruto sped up the twirling, checking his altitude and maintaining slightly twice the height of the stadium. This time he'd build up a bit more.

[Ready. Load Cartridge.]

_KA-CHUNK! KA-CHUNK!_

Lightning erupted around the head of the hammer, leaving a trail that formed a white ring.

"Strike through! Chain Lightning!" Naruto released Mjolnir as he used the technique a second time, this time simply adding even more power to the technique.

Mjolnir flew, surrounded by a crackling white aura. It hit one ninja, rebounded to a second, on to a third and so on.

The twelfth target was jonin level, in curse-seal second stage mode, and able to block. Mjolnir discharged the remaining lightning chakra through him - which actually caused that jonin to curl up and fry.

Mjolnir slapped into Naruto's hand before the last ninja had fallen. He idly noted three others morphing into monsters, and relayed information silently to the TSAB members.

A second or two later, he noted that Signum had sliced one in half and Chrono had frozen another solid.

_Naruto! They're after Sasuke!_

"Sakura?" asked Naruto.

_Kakashi-sensei says stop the summons and giant beasts if you can. If you take them down, the chunin will be better able to handle the human invaders._

"Right, Sakura," said Naruto aloud as he also sent that along the same manner to Sakura and the TSAB personnel. "Though you're forgetting I can be in more than one place at the same time."

_Idiot! Don't try to do it all yourself._

"I think there's enough for everyone. Lightning Shadow Clones!" said Naruto, forming two dozen copies. "You guys go protect the civilians. You guys go after the perimeter. THAT guy... is that snake wearing bibs?"

The various clones looked, considered, and then nodded.

"Okay," said Naruto. "When the going gets tough, hey - that's the way I like it!"

* * *

Not terribly long ago, on a planet called Earth, a girl named Hayate Yagami had developed a tradition called Movie Night. It was simply a time where she and her friends gathered and watched various movies. As several of her friends were not familiar with her world's culture, the idea of familiarizing them through such a medium had been part of that.

One of those movies that the Wolkenritter had enthusiastically enjoyed had been the Peter Jackson trilogy of "Lord Of The Rings." Signum had especially liked it, though there were technical aspects of various fights that she had written out and sent to the director.

Nobody involved had expected said director to write back, thanking her for the feedback and that she had immersed herself in the story to that extent.

After that, Signum had become even more fond of those movies. She stopped muttering lines that Theoden had given his troops prior to the charge on an orc army in order to properly announce her attack.

"The sword-knight, Signum. I bear the fiery demon-blade Levantine! Put sword and scabbard together and their other form is shown!"

_Ka-Chunk! Ka-Chunk!_ went two cartridges as the sword and scabbard morphed to bow form.

[Bow Form!]

She took careful aim with an arrow that formed as she drew the bow back. "Soar forth, my falcon!"

[Storm Falcon!]

* * *

Jiraiya knew it was a bad habit, but he cracked his knuckles anyway.

He had just spent a month in which his days had frequently involved checking on or training Naruto Uzumaki, his godchild. A fair number of nights had been spent with a woman who was pleasantly perverted and quite enthusiastic.

Said woman had also specialized in healing jutsu. Spells. Whatever. He felt better than he had at forty, which might not sound like much - it only being ten years ago. From his perspective though, feeling like he was late-30s as opposed to passing-50 and serious mileage, it was a big difference.

His hands sped through quick signs and then he slapped them together on the final seal. The "Swamp Of The Underworld" formed underneath a large snake-summon. Which led him to his next trick. "Gama?"

"Right," said the orange toad before vomiting balls of oil at high speed towards the snake.

At which point a hammer trailing lightning went through one of the snake's heads, smashed through three chunin who'd thought they were hidden, and circled back towards a flying mage.

"Show off," grumbled Jiraiya.

"Pot. Kettle," said Gama.

"Takes after me," agreed Jiraiya. "Let's finish this one off and then go towards the school. They might decide to strike there."

At which point he ignited the oil still soaking the rest of the snake.

* * *

Five spheres rose from the ground, fading into visibility as they did, streaking skyward less than a heartbeat later.

Clouds began gathering at the horizon as the spheres settled to a new altitude, crackling with electrical chakra.

Naruto let Mjolnir handle the fiddly bits, the math required to perform this and the slow building up of energy.

After all, the Chunin Exams third portion was about showing off and being flashy.

He could do flashy.

* * *

"Approach from the beyond,  
mistletoe branches,  
and become spears of the silver moon!  
Pierce it!  
Stone spears! Mistletein!"

A group of mixed Sand and Sound ninja charging down the street were abruptly stopped by spears of light transfixing them. At which point they stopped moving altogether as their bodies and clothing seemed to turn a dull gray.

"I am the guardian beast, Zafira! You. Shall. Not. Pass!"

Hayate smirked a little. Signum wasn't the only one of the Wolkenritter who'd loved those movies.

The smirk left her as she noticed what was fighting Zafira. It looked like a human woman, but her form was distorted and she had claws and fangs showing.

Zafira was apparently able to handle her, but Hayate thought something looked seriously wrong about the attacker that wasn't immediately apparent.

The two went back and forth for a time before Zafira finally reached in past the berserker's claws and backhanded her into unconsciousness.

"Right," said Hayate, returning her full attention to the fight. "That area next."

* * *

"Permafrost,  
construct a frozen coffin,  
and deliver eternal slumber,  
unto these enemies."

Runners of frost appeared on the streets below, leading to the breech in the wall.

[Eternal Coffin] said Durandal as the wall itself was rebuilt by solid ice, with a few Sound ninja trapped within it.

"Regrettable," said Chrono. After all, they shouldn't be involved in this. Unfortunately they were and he really didn't think he'd be able to get Vita or Nanoha to stop blowing things up once they got started.

Wait. What was Naruto doing?

* * *

[Kaiju detected.]

"That's not a kaiju, it's the Shukaku," said Kakashi as the big beast formed with the redhaired boy sticking out of it's forehead.

_Ka-thunk ka-thunk ka-thunk!_ went Sakura's arm as she loaded three cartridges of magical energy. Her weapon-arm had morphed to some hollow-rod configuration, and she was bracing as if she expected some massive blow.

"Get behind me," said Sakura as the energy built up in front of her arm and she steadied it to point at the tailed beast.

"What is she doing?" asked Guy.

"Something extremely destructive, I suspect," said Kakashi.

"It's not ME you've got to worry about," said Sakura distinctly. "Chain Bind!"

Power discharged in the form of chains worthy of anchoring large ships or lifting them entirely from their oceans. They wrapped around the shukaku.

The gathering darkness caused Kakashi to look skyward at the thick roiling clouds overhead. "Oh."

* * *

Naruto saw the big monster appear, and shifted targets away from the box holding the Hokage and that snake-guy. No, big monster attacking the home team was first.

[Accumulation at saturation point. Safeties unlocked.]

Naruto pointed Mjolnir at the monster. "Kirin!"

Dust generating static electricity over hundreds of square miles fed power into five spheres and directed at a single target, then dissipated as the energy discharged.

Gaara, protected by the chakra in his Sand Armor and by the chakra reinforcement of the Shukaku - was immediately injured enough that it would take him months to recover.

The Shukaku, the one-tailed beast, didn't fare so well as it tried to block with its tail and was struck with the full fury of the attack. The sand composing nearly half its body was abruptly raised to a temperature where sand turned to glass.

Then there was the thunder and blast wave, which proved devastating to the various ninja troops which had tried to rally in the shelter of their allied monster from the drubbing they had been getting.

When it was done, there was a multiton glass paperweight and some loose sand out of which a pair of legs were sticking.

Also a lot of temporarily deaf ninja.

* * *

One moment he had been fighting that Gaara kid, the next everything had started going to crap.

He wasn't sure what it all meant, other than he had been jumped by three chunin. A little over a month prior, he would have put up a good fight but gone down under that assault.

After that one attacker had stolen his eyes, he had taken Naruto's gift and drank something called Elixir. Which cured diseases, poisons, injuries of all sorts, to bring the drinker to the fullness of health.

Which, in his case, meant not only was his Sharingan activated - he could go to Magenkyo Sharingan. Except it seemed a bit different from what he or Kakashi had expected.

The predictive ability had worked as advertised. He could see all the details of movement and where the attacker was going to be. The part that allowed him to visually take apart their jutsu, instantly memorizing it so that he could learn it himself - that worked too.

It would have to be enough, and in many ways - it was.

He found himself easily able to avoid the Twin Sword's attacks, as well as the Axeman's much-slower but heavier swing. The Caster who was attempting to snag him with some water-based capture field was a bit more tricky to avoid.

Not impossible though, and Sasuke had learned his Glue Vomit Jutsu (that probably wasn't its name though, and even if he could cast it Sasuke wasn't sure he ever would) while avoiding the various attacks.

Then there was an opening and the axeman found a kunai slammed through his temple. After that he could more easily fend off the Twin Swords and then ram a Chidori into his chin. Finally he could concentrate on the Water-user and take him down almost as an afterthought.

That had taken a little while though, because the capture team HAD worked as a team and not been too easily overcome. From there he could get to a higher point in the stadium and look around and try to figure out what the heck was going on.

He learned more jutsu in that time, most of which was pretty useless due to an affinity for an element he hadn't managed to develop or due to chakra limitations outside what he could currently manage.

He'd also checked into his own team. Sakura was with Kakashi and a jonin taijutsu expert. Naruto...

He could see but not understand the rapidly shifting threads and bits and bobs of chakra that came from that hammer of Naruto's. It shifted too fast, was too complex, and was definitely outside what he could field as far as chakra was concerned.

When the thunderbolt came, he literally saw it coming and ducked further under the overhang. Even with that measure of protection, the blast wave of heat and pressure was stunning.

The most interesting jutsu, that stuff that Naruto deemed 'spells' - just wasn't going to be possible for him to copy and learn. Which was a pity as they were some of the most impressive and destructive attacks he'd ever heard of. Not to mention the most selective, as it was obvious that those using them could choose targets to not affect as well as targets to simply batter into unconsciousness compared to killing outright.

That girl from Sound mutated into some sort of killing machine, and Sasuke could see the way her transformation was eating away at her life - but then she was defeated and she shifted back to normal but with a chakra level that was dangerously low.

At which point he realized his own chakra was rapidly running out, and he turned off his Sharingan rather than collapse there.

Chiding himself for such an obvious mistake, Sasuke decided to try heading for where Sakura stood with Kakashi. Especially as he still couldn't hear a damn thing.

He'd have to tease Naruto about that later. His attack had been impressive but impractical.

Though admittedly, it HAD stopped the giant rampaging tanuki.

At which point he saw a Sound ninja attempting to use a really impressive sword technique and he automatically turned on his Sharingan to copy it.

Which had him passing out from chakra exhaustion and missing everything else.

* * *

Shamal walked around the barrier, studying it. Her abilities with Klarer Wind were mainly support-oriented, and information gathering was part of that.

"You can give up on that, stupid cow," said some girl inside a small barrier of her own. "There is no break for you weak Konoha nin to exploit. So just go off and #$% yourself!"

Shamal stopped and considered the woman on the other side of the barrier. "So this barrier doesn't stop light or sound."

"No #$^#," said the woman, not moving from her position. "Fugly skank like you has a real talent. Stating the #$^* obvious. You and those friends of yours are going to get your #%** #$%* when we're done here. Then we'll #$# your corpses. What do you think about that?"

"Klarer Wind, Mirror Of Travel," said Shamal, making a gesture. A ring formed in front of her, shimmering with energy.

"You #$#^ deaf? I said that wouldn't-"

Shamal reached inside the ring, her arm appearing inside the barrier where she could grab the cursing woman's neck and yank her head outside the barrier.

Shamal then proceeded to repeatedly bitch-slap the enemy-nin. Then she took the foul-mouthed girl's linker core.

The barrier immediately collapsed at that point.

Shamal straightened her clothing as she walked away from the twitching girl on the roof. "Don't be so crude in the future."

* * *

"Did you ever know the joy of killing the one you once called 'sensei'?" asked Orochimaru, stepping back from the two animated corpses. "I prepared this scenario so that you might know that joy."

The barrier flickered and collapsed.

"Was this part of your fiendish plot?" asked Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, now facing his two predecessors as well as his estranged pupil.

"Not so much," admitted Orochimaru. "Still, it doesn't matter."

"MISTLETEIN!"

Orochimaru and the resurrected First Hokage managed to dodge. The Second Hokage only managed to dodge the first three spears before a fourth one struck. His body shifted color to a dull gray.

"Okay, that was an interesting jutsu," admitted Orochimaru, looking up at the young girl standing in mid-air without an apparent surface to stand on. "A little slow though. Let's see how you deal with -"

_KA-CHUNK!_

Orochimaru's head slid off his body, bounced twice on the roof, and then made a face. "Oh, now this is just plain annoying. First Hokage, go busy yourself against the Third Hokage while I deal with this interference."

"Signum," said the woman with the sword who'd just decapitated the pale-skinned enemy.

"Zafira," said a male with odd ears as he made a gesture and formed chains to bind.

"I'll remember those names after I kill you," said Orochimaru with a sneer. "That way when I resurrect you as my slaves to get your secrets - you'll at least have that much."

His head and body turned to mud, then reformed whole again.

* * *

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

"Oh, this is bad," said Hiruzen Sarutobi. When it had just been him against the First in taijutsu, it had been tough. At least he didn't have to face the First and the Second as the Second Hokage was still a statue.

"HA!" said the Third Hokage making a one-handed hand-seal.

Half of the First Hokage exploded as the tag the Third put on him during the taijutsu fight went off.

Little pieces of scrap immediately began reassembling into the First Hokage.

The Third Hokage was already moving and slapped a hand down on the nearest branch. "Summoning Jutsu. Monkey King Enma."

* * *

The plan was supposed to go off with one thing leading inevitably to another. There were bits and aspects ready to slide into place if one part of the plan failed, but those were mainly for earlier in the development.

Orochimaru didn't allow any of his doubts to show. Complete confidence was part of his modus operandi.

In fact, he had noticed that the "foreign delegates" were almost ALL throwing around some powerful jutsu. Kabuto had assigned minions to deal with them as part of the plan, but it looked as if the targets had overcome that part.

[Struggle Bind]

And now the First Hokage was being held down by chakra chains while that damn monkey and Sarutobi commenced a barrage.

Damn, all these interesting jutsu and he couldn't really study any of them.

He'd blame Kabuto. Really, what was the point of having all these spies in your enemy ranks if they didn't pass on any of the truly interesting stuff?

"Well," said one clone just before it was repeatedly stabbed by glowing blue blades of light.

"-this-" said another clone which only half-formed before it was cut in half by a sword-wielding woman.

"-has-" said another clone, pulling itself out of the mouth of the second clone and dying abruptly as a metal sphere shot through its head before it had gotten all the way out.

"-been-" began yet another clone, forming out of the roof tiles before it was beheaded by Enma.

"-fun-" said another clone, just before losing his head.

"Would you cut that OUT?" demanded Orochimaru before realizing he wasn't being attacked.

"Lock on!" said a boy who hadn't been attacking. "Highlighting current location."

"What?" said the Orochiclone before seeing a particularly torn up section of roof glow. "Oh dear."

_New plan,_ decided the real Orochimaru as he used substitutions, smoke screens, instant regenerations, and some very rapid movement techniques. _Get out of Konohagakure. Kill spies for failure. Get new spies before trying again. Find out why my lovely new Sharingan eyes aren't working on all the jutsu being thrown around._

At which point Orochimaru found himself nearly out of the village, and there was only some annoying blond genin in his way.

Oh. Hell. It was That One.

* * *

[Target acquired. Power level is 25% above next highest level among attacking forces. Analysis of current action indicates attempted escape.]

"Well, he's up against Hayate, the Wolkenritter, the Hokage, and Chrono. Can't blame him for wanting to get away."

[Affirmative.]

"That doesn't mean we're letting him get away," noted Naruto, tightening his grip on Mjolnir and raising it over his head.

_Ka-chunk Ka-chunk_ went two cartridges into Mjolnir. [Ready Boss.]

Naruto began whirling Mjolnir around by the ring at the end of the handle. "Tempest!"

* * *

Kiba and Akamaru landed after basically drilling their way through a group of enemy nin, turned and stared.

"Arf," summed up Akamaru.

"Okay, freaky snake guy fighting a lightning storm with an impossibly long sword," said Kiba. Shaking his head at the sight, he only paused long enough to backhand the enemy nin that had been trying to sneak up behind him into oblivion.

"Arruuf," said Akamaru.

Kiba made a thoughtful noise as he looked over the mostly deserted streets and a few piles of bodies here and there. Mostly enemy nin from what he could see. "Aw, c'mon. We gotta find someone around here to beat on."

"Raff," agreed Akamaru.

* * *

She'd fired arrows when she could, picking her targets carefully and firing with the assisted accuracy of the bow itself. When using her Byakugan and the bow had begun draining her remaining chakra to a dangerous level, she'd fallen back on her training in the clan martial art.

When she'd worn herself out from that, she'd fallen back to her family's position.

There was a loud snap from not too far away, and she could see Sakura pulling some extra large needle out of her arm - a few sparks shooting out from the tear as she did so.

However, as bad a beating as their side had taken - one did not need the Byakugan to see that the other side was worse off.

"We've taken a beating," summed up Hiashi Hyuga from where he was standing nearby. "The other side though, they have been decimated."

"Uzumaki is fighting Orochimaru!" said one of the branch members.

Even those who were exhausted turned on their Byakugan.

* * *

Orochimaru was powerful and one of the sannin. He was not, however, capable of drawing on infinite stores of power.

The kid facing him fell back before a set of strikes from Kusanagi, blocking twice with that odd hammer of his.

Whatever he was, whatever that hammer was, they were not very experienced. At any moment, the boy would make a mistake and Orochimaru knew he would kill the child and make his escape.

"Struggle Bind!" said the kid with the hammer.

"What?" asked Orochimaru as the chains resisted his attempts to simply slide out of them, then break them, then transform. Worse, they seemed to be grabbing ahold of his chakra itself!

[Restrict Lock] said a voice not nearly far enough away.

"Starlight Breaker! Shoot-oh!"

Orochimaru half-turned to regard the large blast heading his way. "You've got to be kidding me..."

He managed to survive that, but then the kid with the hammer was suddenly pointing it into his face and saying something while the hammer made a ka-chunk noise that somehow sounded like doom.

* * *

The Sand was standing down. The Sound was pretty much silenced. Konoha had a lot more craters and rubble. It had survived though.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat and looked out over the village. He had some decisions to make.

Well, no reason not to get started after all. Other than he was damn old and feeling it.

No, no reason to put this off.

* * *

"Did you see?"

"Naruto Uzumaki defending the village and smiting down Orochimaru? Yeah."

"So..."

"Fine. He's a 'splendid ninja' and I owe you three dinners at the Korean place. Happy?"

* * *

Naruto fingered the flak vest as he stood in the little grassy area not far from the Hokage Tower. "I still can't believe I made chunin."

"Maybe they're just trying to get you and your 'friends of massive destruction' out of the village?" mused Shikamaru.

Naruto snorted. "Yeah, right. So what next?"

Shikamaru stopped watching the clouds long enough to look over at Naruto and reply. "Who knows? Other than it will be troublesome, I'm sure."

* * *

Okay, this is probably it for Mjolnir. i wanted to at least get thru the Chunin Exam arc to see how it would all go.

Yeah, probably what everyone expected.

Oh well, thanks for reading!


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